Meghan Markle is keeping a low profile since returning to Britain to build up anticipation so the public do not get sick of her, a source claims. The source said the Duchess of Sussex was previously advised to be less "accessible" as it generates more interest and that is an approach she is "leaning into".
The source added that Meghan also has lots to keep her busy, including settling Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet into their new home. The source told the National Examiner: "Between unpacking, getting the kids settled into their new routine and keeping her brand and all her other projects moving, she's going from morning until late at night. When she does start stepping out more, the hope is she'll have built up enough anticipation that people will be excited to see her, rather than having her everywhere right away and the public getting sick of her."
Move to the Cotswolds
Prince Harry and Meghan moved to the UK in August in a move which is not permanent but is expected to last for an extended period. The Sussexes are believed to be living somewhere in the Cotswolds. Since their return, Meghan has been absent from the public gaze, with only a few reported glimpses of her, including at a pub in Burford, Oxfordshire, where she met US ex-pat Ellen DeGeneres and her wife, model Portia de Rossi.
While the Duchess has remained out of the spotlight, Harry has appeared solo at the WellChild Awards and the first annual Invictus Spirit Awards. The source claimed the Duke understands why Meghan wants to wait before making an appearance and believes his wife will receive a "fantastic reception" when she does. They also told the National Examiner that Meghan knows she and Catherine, Princess of Wales, will always be compared and the Duchess wants to show she can make just as much of an impact as Harry's sister-in-law, "if not more".
First outing as a couple
Meghan and Harry were snapped by The Sun in Great Tew on the edge of the Cotswolds on their way to the Falkland Arms pub. The images show them hand in hand, wearing sunglasses, in their first appearance as a couple since their UK return.
The images came after it emerged that international paparazzi were spotted looking into the grounds of Archie and Lilibet's new school. That led Team Sussex's spokesman to brand the snappers "extraordinarily reckless". Two young men with backpacks and using a white van are understood to have been spotted by private security and school staff walking the perimeter of the school and monitoring children.
School security concerns
A spokesman for Harry and Meghan called the actions "an extraordinary lack of judgment" in the wake of the suspected terror plot near RAF Fairford, with a number of American children with families connected to the base said to attend the school. He said: "There is a world of difference between legitimate media activity and photographers walking the perimeter of a school, stopping to look into the grounds and monitoring children as they go about their day."
Harry and Meghan are waiting to hear whether they will be given taxpayer-funded security. They removed Archie and Lilibet out of their first-choice British school in September after just two days when heavy traffic in the area meant their private security team struggled to stay in a convoy on the school run. The Duke's mother Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a crash after her car, driven at speed by a drunk chauffeur, was chased through the streets of Paris by members of the paparazzi. Local police declined to confirm or deny the reported incident.
