Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been warned that a return to the UK would be a public relations disaster, according to royal experts. In the latest episode of the podcast 'Pump Up The Jam', kinsey Schofield and Cristo Foufas rated the couple's PR missteps, giving several of their projects extremely low scores.
The experts argued that the couple's 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview was a 'rage-fueled move' that would 'define them for the rest of their lives'. They gave it a 2/10 rating, calling it 'one of the most detrimental things they did for their brand'. Similarly, their Netflix docuseries 'Harry & Meghan' was labelled 'contrived' and 'unauthentic', with the couple accused of exaggerating their stories.
The Sussexes' podcast deal with Spotify was also panned, receiving a 2/10. Schofield said it was a 'huge missed opportunity', as instead of talking to changemakers, they featured Mariah Carey discussing the meaning of 'diva'. The Archewell Foundation scored 3/10, with experts saying they 'couldn’t define what the charity does' and that it was used to 'sell stuff' like Harry's memoir.
Harry's memoir 'Spare' received the lowest rating of 1/10, described as a 'bizarre list of gripes' that 'left them open to utter ridicule'. Meghan's new lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard, was given an unprecedented -1/10, with the experts highlighting the 'amazing lack of self-awareness' for launching it amid the King and Princess Kate's cancer diagnoses.
The only bright spot was the Invictus Games, which scored 8/10, though experts warned it could become a 'PR machine' if the couple used it for self-promotion. Overall, the analysis suggests that any UK return would be fraught with PR dangers.
