Meghan Markle is facing fresh criticism from royal commentators, who claim her recent public moves were part of a planned PR strategy that ended up going wrong.
Speaking with host Samara Gill on the News24 YouTube channel, Mail on Sunday editor-at-large Charlotte Griffiths shared her perspective on what might have been behind the Duchess of Sussex’s recent decisions.
The Timing of Junior MasterChef
During the discussion, Griffiths pointed out that the news surrounding Meghan and Junior MasterChef appeared to be carefully timed. She noted that it happened just 24 to 48 hours after troubling first reports came out about Meghan’s father.
According to Griffiths, aligning with a children's cooking show was a strategic PR effort by Meghan to distance herself from her father and remind the public of her role as a mother.
"I feel like if I was trying to get in her head, that was her strategy," Griffiths explained, adding that Meghan wanted to show the public she is a mom who works well with children and is nothing like her father.
Why the Strategy Backfired
Rather than helping her public image, the move reportedly had the opposite effect. Griffiths stated that the effort "backfired massively" because the public saw right through it. Many people felt she was using Junior MasterChef as a convenient way to distract attention away from the serious allegations involving her family.
Avoiding the Brussels EU Event
Griffiths also weighed in on Meghan’s absence from a formal European Union event in Brussels. She explained that promoting a personal lifestyle brand like As Ever, a small charity, or a television project is very different from attending a high-level political gathering.
While Griffiths made it clear that Meghan is not guilty of her father's alleged actions, she noted that there are still many unanswered questions regarding a past letter and its timing. Because of the uncertainty around what Meghan knew and when she knew it, Griffiths believes the Duchess simply did not have the confidence to stand in front of serious government officials in Brussels.
