Meghan and Harry 'big losers' amid Covid-19 crisis as their absence made them irrelevant in UK: Royal expert
A royal expert has claimed that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been branded as the "big losers" in the royal family amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. After stepping down as senior members of the royal family in January and moving to Los Angeles, Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, have both missed out on the opportunity of boosting their public image, according to author Phil Dampier.
Dampier told The Express that the couple hasn't gained the same popularity garnered by other royals amid the COVID-19 lockdown, thereby making them the "big losers" during this period. "I think the lockdown has been good image-wise for all of the royals except for Harry and Meghan," the royal author said. "They are the big losers in this because they now look somewhat isolated and somewhat irrelevant in this country."
Dampier, who shot to fame as the writer of 'Prince Philip: Wise Words and Golden Gaffes', told the outlet that their lack of presence during the ongoing crisis has led to hordes of their fans losing interest. "They still might have a massive role to play internationally or in America but I think people just shrug their shoulders in the UK," the royal expert explained. "They're just not really interested whereas all the other royals have gone up in popularity and have also played their roles very well."
Dampier's comments come just days after close friends of Meghan Markle told Daily Mail that the Duchess of Sussex is "absolutely mortified" with best friend Jessica Mulroney and can "no longer be associated with her" after her "tone-deaf" threats to sue a black influencer.
"Meghan is absolutely mortified that she's been dragged into this complete mess. She said Jessica is in no way a racist, but the way she handled the situation (with the fashion influencer) was tone-deaf and heartbreaking," a close friend of Meghan's told the British paper.
Mulroney, who threatened to sue black influencer Sasha Exeter after the pair became embroiled in a row over racism on Instagram, has since been fired from ABC's 'Good Morning America' and had her reality TV show canceled. "Meghan said friends reflect friends and because of what's at stake she can no longer be associated with Jessica, at least not in public. She has to do what she has to do in order to preserve her dignity and her own reputation," they added.
Meghan Markle returned to public view last week as she released an address to the graduating class of 2020 at her school, Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles. During the address, the Duchess opened up about her own experience with racism in wake of the May 25 death of 46-year-old George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. "I wasn’t sure what I could say to you. I wanted to say the right thing," Meghan said. "I realized the only wrong thing to say is to say nothing. Because George Floyd’s life mattered, and Breonna Taylor’s life mattered, and Philando Castile’s life mattered, and Tamir Rice’s life mattered, and so did so many other people whose names we know and whose names we don’t know."