King Charles will ‘forgive’ Prince Harry says Petronella Wyatt
Prince Harry has crossed a “basic but crucial moral line” by sharing a story involving his niece Princess Charlotte in his memoir, a crisis and reputation management expert has claimed. Edward Coram-James analysed the Duke of Sussex’s decision to reopen the chapter surrounding the now-notorious bridesmaid dress row, which took place only days before the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding.
To set the record straight on the much-reported discussion between Kate and Meghan, the Duke included in his book, titled Spare, text messages between the two royals.
One of Kate’s texts published in the book also included the information Princess Charlotte, now seven, was left in tears after trying on the gown she was meant to wear as one of the flower girls at the nuptials on May 19 2018.
Mr Coram-James, CEO of GoUp, believes this move is damaging from a PR and reputation management perspective, in particular when considering how “fiercely protective” the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are of their children’s privacy.
He told Express.co.uk: “From a reputation management perspective, the most basic element is not to be seen doing the thing that you are accusing the other side of doing.”
The commentator continued that, given the privacy stance Harry and Meghan have taken when it comes to Archie Harrison and Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana, “discussing intimate details about the children of others” risks “crossing a basic but crucial moral line regarding monetising controversial stories related to children”.
Princess Charlotte was one of the flower girls at the Sussexes’ wedding (Image: GETTY)
Prince Harry shared text messages between Kate and William in his book (Image: GETTY)
Highlighting another point he perceived as a mistake made by the Sussexes from a reputation management perspective, Mr Coram-James added: “He discusses private text messages between Kate and Meghan. Again, for a man that has made his disdain for leaks clear and public, this is not a good look and risks being seen as a double standard.”
The PR expert also noted how the Duke and Duchess of Sussex lamented Kensington Palace for not issuing a statement to quash the first story to ever hit the press in late 2018 about this row.
He went on to claim: “The original story broke to say that Meghan had made Catherine cry. Harry has railed against the Royal Family for not, in his mind, correcting this supposedly false narrative of events by releasing a clarifying statement.
“However, in the Tom Bradby interview, a double standard appears to be on display.
“Prince Harry tells the interviewer that comments made in the notorious Oprah interview that seemed to suggest the Royal Family to be racist, were in fact taken out of context by the press and that he did not believe the royals to be a racist family.
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Princess Charlotte was one of the flower girls at the Sussexes’ wedding (Image: GETTY)
Meghan and Kate during a Christmas Day walkabout in 2018 (Image: GETTY)
Five jaw-dropping moments from Prince Harry’s back-to-back weekend of interviews
Prince Harry has unloaded a host of new explosive allegations against the Royal Family.
Prince William, King Charles III and Camilla, the Queen Consort, all featured in his interviews with 60 Minutes and ITV.
The royal has embarked on media rounds as the world anticipates his book “Spare”.
From branding Queen Camilla as “dangerous” to the last time Harry spoke with Prince William, here are the top five moments from the Duke of Sussex’s interviews.
“However, it took Harry the better part of a year to make this corrective statement. If the Duke of Sussex advises that others should make immediate corrective statements, then, from a reputational point of view, it would be wise that he lives up to that advice.”
Mr Coram-James said Harry, who has donated his proceeds from the book to charity, may have had good reasons to share private texts, including the one relating to Charlotte’s upset.
But he added: “From a reputation management point of view, this will be deeply damaging to his brand. It risks making his autobiography appear more of a revenge piece against his family.”
Had Harry kept the focus on his difficult relationship with the press, the commentator said, he would have received a more “sympathetic ear”.
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Prince Harry detailed his rift with William in his book (Image: GETTY)
He continued: “However, if you are going to go on the offensive against your family, you had better make sure that you retain a squeaky clean disposition in the meantime.”
As noted by the commentator, in late 2018 it was first claimed that Meghan had made Kate cry amid a discussion related to Charlotte’s bridesmaid gown.
In early 2021, during the Sussexes’ interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan refuted this claim, saying “the reverse had happened” and she had been left in tears by Kate.
In his book, Prince Harry said Kate had texted Meghan after her daughter had tried on a gown, made without a prior fitting, too baggy for her.
The reported text read: “Charlotte’s dress is too big, too long, too baggy. She cried when she tried it on at home.”
Prince Harry’s book was released on Tuesday (Image: GETTY)
The Princess of Wales also seemed unwilling to meet Meghan’s tailor who was on stand-by at Kensington Palace to fix the issues related to the dresses, Harry wrote.
He went on to claim Kate had told Meghan she had discussed the problem with her “own wedding designer” who had agreed with her.
The exchange took place at a particularly stressful time for Meghan, who was not only dealing with the upcoming wedding but also with concerns surrounding her father Thomas Markle Snr.
Harry added that, a short time after the cold exchange between Meghan and Kate, he found his then bride-to-be “on the floor, sobbing”.
Kate, who at the time had recently given birth to Prince Louis, didn’t mean any harm to the Duchess and the following day arrived at Nottingham Cottage with a bouquet of flowers for Meghan, Harry added.
