The Duchess of Sussex faced criticism yesterday over her apparent decision to allow her closest friends to defend her in an extraordinary magazine interview.
The feature, in US celebrity magazine People, saw five of ‘those who know Meghan best set the record straight’ over the troubled relationship with her father and criticism of her style as a royal.
But experts and royal insiders said the duchess had been wrong to sanction the interview. Kensington Palace refused to comment on whether the anonymous sources had co-operated with the magazine at the direct request of the duchess or, at the very least, with her tacit permission.
The Duchess of Sussex faced criticism yesterday over her apparent decision to allow her closest friends to defend her in an extraordinary magazine interview. The Duchess and Prince Harry are pictured together
It was clear, however, that the palace press office had not been involved. The Mail understands the palace was informed by magazine staff only minutes before publication about the article’s exceptional detail – including a verbatim account of a letter written by Meghan, 37, to her estranged father.
The duchess showed no sign of the furore last night as she and Harry arrived, hand in hand, for the Endeavour Fund Awards, which celebrate the achievements of injured service personnel. Meghan, who wore an evening gown by her wedding dress designer Givenchy, and Harry chatted with recipients and their families. At one point the prince pointed to his wife’s bump and joked: ‘There’s a big baby in there.’ Meghan said: ‘He’ll be the best dad.’
However the suggestion that the duchess sanctioned her inner circle to speak to the media over the heads of her closest advisers sparked concern both inside and outside the royal households.
Former Buckingham Palace press secretary Dickie Arbiter, who worked as a media manager for both Prince Charles and Princess Diana, said he feared the decision would only exacerbate issues, not contain them.
He said: ‘Assuming – and as these sources are anonymous we don’t know for sure – that this was done with her agreement, it has opened a Pandora’s Box, in my opinion. The issue with her father is an open wound and I’m not entirely sure it is the best idea to aggravate that.
‘It doesn’t entirely surprise me that the press office didn’t know, that said. Nothing changes. The first inkling we had of a story was when you read it in the Sun or the Mail.’
Joe Little, managing director of the pro-monarchy Majesty magazine, said he believed the Royal Family’s age-old mantra of ‘never complain, never explain’ was as relevant as ever.
‘These chats were clearly done with the very best of intentions but I’m inclined to think they have achieved nothing,’ he said. ‘It would have been more helpful for her friends to stuck their head above the parapet and allowed their names and identities to be revealed as it would have given credence to the stories.’
Another senior former courtier told the Mail they understood why the pregnant duchess would want to speak out
