PR expert and crisis manager Carla Speight has spoken exclusively to Express.co.uk about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, as the couple is undergoing a significant transformation since signing their lucrative Netflix deal. They seem eager to move away from raw public disclosures towards more purposeful and future-oriented projects, with “Meghan leading the way” as she prepares to release a second series of her lifestyle show As Ever imminently.
“Looking back at the Netflix era, they’ve evolved as a couple,” Speight explained. “From Harry’s hurt leading to the book and the documentary airing their dirty laundry, to moving forward with projects they care about, such as Invictus and With Love, Meghan, at the centre of the latter. I believe the Duchess has pioneered that direction, providing a stable future for them and helping them settle into their new lives in the US.”
While Meghan’s focus appears firmly on the future, Prince Harry’s journey remains complicated as “Harry continues to battle with the Royal Family to see reason and meet him halfway to allow space for healing their relationship,” Speight shared. “Though it appears there’s a long way to go, and seemingly both sides need to compromise and stop letting pride, emotions, and the Royal Household advisors get in the way.”
The last time Harry spoke about his family was in May when he appeared without warning on the BBC to discuss the ongoing fallout between him and King Charles. The Duke has since unusually quiet, as his wife’s career trajectory in America appears to be on the rise.
Her lifestyle brand, As Ever, launched in partnership with Netflix, sold out its product lines within minutes and has built an impressive following. Speight believes Meghan’s focus is clear: “It’s to ensure her husband and children are provided for in their new life, which Harry is learning to adjust to.”
Before stepping away from senior royal duties, Harry’s public life was carefully managed and organised by a team of advisors whom Prince Harry criticised in his searing autobiography, Spare.
“Previously, Harry didn’t have the freedom to say and do as he pleased without putting it past the Royal Household team for assessment,” Speight notes. “Every engagement was planned meticulously, press interviews were screened, and answers were prepped in advance by the Palace’s press team.”
But the Netflix deal gave Harry something he had never experienced before — unrestricted freedom to speak. “In the early days of the Netflix contract, he was quite literally encouraged to ‘speak his truth’ by the teams around him.
“That’s a terrible approach when the person at the heart of it is hurting and the emotions are incredibly raw. When this advice is given to someone in Harry’s position, it will almost always result in the fallout the couple have faced.”
According to Speight, the team surrounding the Sussexes at that time prioritised compelling television and big sales over the personal cost to Harry. “Whilst the agents around the couple at the time will have loved the great TV and millions earned in book sales, they failed to recognise that there was a very hurt man at the heart of that situation, who needed support and guidance,” she shared.
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