A public relations expert has issued a stark warning to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle: say nothing about their recent meeting with King Charles and Queen Camilla if they hope to regain the British public's favour. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex met the monarch and his wife last Friday during Harry's trip to the UK to mark the one-year countdown to the Invictus Games in Birmingham.
The meeting, which reportedly lasted one hour, included Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. It was the first time the Sussex children had seen their grandfather in four years. The encounter comes amid a reported decline in Harry and Meghan's popularity across both the UK and the US.
Plummeting Approval Ratings
The Sussexes' popularity has fallen sharply since their departure from the royal family six years ago. A YouGov survey last May found Harry and Meghan ranked just above Prince Andrew, with approval ratings of 33% and 22%, respectively. In June, a YouGov America poll showed Meghan's favourability at 27%, down from 37% in the third quarter of 2025, when her net approval rating was +15.
PR Expert's Advice
Renae Smith, founder of PR and branding agency The Atticism, told the Daily Express: "I think we're all naturally curious. Family reconciliation is always a compelling story. But if I were advising Harry and Meghan about this, my advice would be incredibly simple: say absolutely nothing. Literally nothing."
Smith urged the couple to avoid interviews, hints about the meeting's tone, references to private conversations on podcasts, or even subtle allusions to it. She explained that "the moment a private family conversation becomes public content, any goodwill generated by that meeting disappears." Silence, she said, "would speak volumes" and "show restraint, maturity and perhaps a genuine desire to rebuild family relationships privately rather than publicly."
Invictus as a Strong Platform
Smith added: "For me personally, this trip wasn't a triumph, and it certainly wasn't transformational. But it was a little bit more than fine, and for Harry and Meghan, even 'fine' would be one of their best outcomes in quite some time." She noted that "Harry continues to perform best when he stays firmly in his own lane. Invictus remains his strongest and most authentic platform. People may have differing views on him personally, but very few question his genuine passion for that work."
