Prince Harry and Meghan Markle “try too hard” and the “public don’t buy it”, a PR expert has claimed.
It comes after the couple took their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, trick or treating for Halloween – a move that Laura Perkes, a PR strategist and mentor at PR with Perkes, dubs a “PR stunt”.
She tells the Daily Mirror that the Sussexes often “miss the mark” in their attempts to appeal to the public, adding that “the public and the media don’t buy it”.
Ms Perkes said: “Harry and Meghan have built a reputation that they’re never going to be able to run away from, therefore the media and the public are always going to have a perception of the couple and the intention behind the decisions they make.”
“Sadly, a lot of what they do seems to be calculated, to give the illusion that they’re living by their organisation’s tagline: leading the way with compassion, but the public and the media don’t buy it. They always seem to try too hard and then miss the mark,” Laura added.
“It may be that they wanted to create a family tradition, taking Archie and Lilibet trick or treating, to show that they’re ‘just a normal family’ doing normal things, but to me it feels like a PR stunt in disguise. It’s the image they want to portray.
“The reason they stepped down as working Royals was to have more freedom away from the scrutiny of the media eye, yet they want their ‘normal family life’ captured by photographers, no doubt to achieve more positive publicity.
“Harry has done some amazing things with the Invictus Games and for publicly opening up about mental health, but sadly it now feels as though he’s using these platforms to boost his own personal image and reputation, which is sad, because he has done so much, and had the opportunity to do so much more, but most people now are wary of working with the couple because of their behaviour and the choices that they’ve made.”
Harry, Meghan, and their two children were reportedly seen walking around their Montecito neighbourhood as they went trick-or-treating.
Archie was holding Harry’s hand while carrying a pumpkin basket.
The youngster was dressed as a skeleton.
Meghan was carrying Lilibet, who was reportedly wearing a pink costume.
A clip of the family trick or treating together went viral on social media.
