The Royal Family’s tried and tested mantra of ‘never complain, never explain’ backfired when it came to Prince Harry airing his dirty laundry in public, according to an expert.
Harry and Meghan Markle have faced much criticism for their tell-all Netflix documentary series and the Duke’s memoir Spare, which they released after stepping down as working royals in 2020.
However, PR expert and Crisis Communications Advisor at 10Yetis.co.uk, Andy Barr, believes they could have taken a firmer stance against some of the allegations, rather than maintaining a dignified silence.
He told The Mirror: “[The royals] are clearly not blameless in this either and possibly took the mantra of ‘never complain, never explain’ too far.
“Whilst they garnered worldwide respect for not responding to every new sordid revelation, they could have better handled some of the more inflammatory elements such as the accusations of a physical altercation between Harry and William.”
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He added that although Harry may never admit to regretting his actions, “all parties will know that better communication would have made the move less controversial and removed the tinge of sadness that many across the globe now feel”.
“The real power play here was between the armies of communications and brand advisors that both sides employ.
“If the Royal Family and Harry had been more stern in their ruling that neither side should brief negative messages about each other to the press then much of the discussion could have been done behind closed doors, directly and with more dignity.”
Mr Barr admitted that while no one emerged from the scandal with their reputation completely unscathed, it had undoubtedly affected Team Sussex more.
He explained: “As the Royal Family have shown time and time again though, this was just a short-term bump in the road for their reputation, whereas it feels like Harry is now having to fight a constant battle to get the global media to accurately reflect the positive and well-intentioned family man that he is.
“Could both sides of handled this whole situation better? As with every family dispute, of course they could. Will either side ever admit that, absolutely not.”
