Things are looking great for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. That’s what the Duchess of Sussex wanted to convey when she finally updated her and her husband’s shared Instagram account with not just one, two, or three — but 17 Stories in total showcasing what they did at the Invictus Games, which kicked off in Vancouver, Canada, on Saturday, Feb. 8, and set to run until Sunday, Feb. 16.
After a rough January, the royal couple may have found a bit of a relief and another way to turn the public narrative in their favor. The year started with a bevy of troubles for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle just as they were on the brink of building up momentum for their 2025 projects. Their misfortunes began with the LA fires that consumed more than 12,000 homes and commercial properties in California. Though the Montecito-based couple’s home was spared from the fires, their neighbors were badly affected.
As philanthropists, the former senior royals took it upon themselves to open their homes to their friends affected by the natural disaster. They also volunteered and were photographed at the Pasadena Convention Center handing out packed meals to the people who lost their properties to the fires. However, their supposedly kind gesture was negatively received by critics who argued they were taking advantage of the situation to boost their image.
In addition to the backlash, the California fires forced Markle’s team to delay the release of her new lifestyle-focused Netflix series, With Love, Meghan, originally set to premiere on Jan. 15. However, with what has happened to the Golden State, it would be tone-deaf for the series to air as scheduled. It has since been moved to debut on March 4.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Markle and Prince Harry faced another media firestorm when Vanity Fair published an 8,000-word exposé detailing what their former royal staff went through at the hands of the former Suits actress. The outlet’s sources claimed they either quit or needed long-term therapy after being subjected to alleged bullying.
Now that the Invictus Games have started, the royal couple is allegedly making this “face-saving” pivot, and Markle seems to be pulling all stops with this one, based on royal commentator Daniela Elser’s assessment of the Duchess of Sussex’s recent gesture. According to Elser, the mother of two strategically left out some details from her social media updates to make it appear as though they received a positive response at the event.
In particular, one incident that Markle tried to keep from the online world was when she gave an impromptu speech at the opening reception. When she greeted the crowd from the lectern, she was not warmly welcomed by the attendees. What’s worse was a few laughs could be heard when she asked everyone, “How are we feeling?” Markle, who has purportedly built a following as an actress, all the more suffered a major blunder when she introduced her husband, and Prince Harry was met with hollering and loud applause. Ouch!
The irony is that Prince Harry recently lost his royal image, as per a new poll. Based on the survey, the British people now view King Charles‘ younger son as less of a royal and more of a celebrity. Considering the response to his appearance at the Invictus Games, however, it seems Prince Harry’s celebrity just saved him from what was supposed to be an embarrassing demotion.
Published: Feb 11, 2025 05:05 am