Meghan Markle spotted entering exclusive club San Vicente Bungalows
After months of silence amid Prince Harry’s explosive attacks on the royal family, Meghan Markle has finally resurfaced. See the photos.
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After months of silence amid the fallout of Prince Harry’s explosive attacks on the royal family, Meghan Markle has finally resurfaced.
The Duchess of Sussex, who has for months been keeping a low profile after the release of Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir Spare, was spotted on a “date night” with her husband.
Pictured entering the exclusive San Vicente Bungalows, a private members’ club in West Hollywood, a glowing Ms Markle smiled broadly.
The club operates a strict no photography policy and social media ban, which no doubt appealed to the privacy-seeking Sussexes.
The pair appeared in good spirits despite reports that King Charles has evicted them from their UK base, Frogmore Cottage.
Ms Markle, dressed in a chic pair of black leather pants and a beige coat, beamed as she sheltered from the rain under an umbrella held by an employee while entering the venue.
Upon arrival, she cosied up to Prince Harry in the back seat of a chauffeur-driven limo as they were snapped by photographers outside the old-Hollywood-style club, which is a favourite of A-listers.
It was the first major public outing for the Duchess since the release of Prince Harry’s Spare and the ensuing global publicity blitz.
Before a fleeting Instagram appearance earlier this week in an ad for coffee start-up Clevr, which she invested in three years ago, Ms Markle had not been seen for months.
Australian PR strategist Sharon Williams, founder and CEO of Taurus Marketing, said Ms Markle was “a brilliant personal brand strategist” and had likely been letting the fallout of Spare “happen naturally before she puts herself there in the firing line”.
“The outpouring after the book has been very mixed,” Ms Williams said.
“So she will have sat back to wait to see what that fallout is, because remembering she’s a professional personal brand builder and has been on a mission since she came on the scene.
So this will be totally in line with her strategy.”
Ms Williams said Ms Markle was a natural attention seeker who put superstar Madonna, at her peak, in the shade.
“It’s quite extraordinary to watch,” she said.
“And before she was a royal, she was a professional actress. So she’s used to playing the part as this is rolling out. And it’s fascinating to see that every moment is orchestrated.”
Speaking from London, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said Ms Markle had been notably silent amid the “control freak” Sussexes’ drop in popularity in the US and the UK, which he described as “very serious”.
“It is interesting because normally she is and has been very prominent,” he said.
“In December, there was so much on Netflix and the trailers ... in the United States, two polls are out making it clear there’s been a meltdown in support.
“You do wonder what their plans are.”
Mr Fitzwilliams said the royal revelations had “misfired” for the couple.
“I think Americans don’t like the way they’ve been trashing their family or essentially he has but of, course, with her support,” he said.
“Meghan usually acts as part of a plan. They like controlling the narrative. That’s what they were doing in December with those Netflix trailers to rupture William and Kate’s Boston visit.”
Ms Williams said Ms Markle would be preparing for a “masterful” comeback as she builds her personal brand after so long in the wilderness.
”The coffee ad is safe — it’s interesting,” Ms Williams said.
“She can’t be interviewed, she can’t be questioned, it’s prerecorded. So she’ll be able to watch the response to that.
“And then (her comeback) will be masterful. Every stroke she’s made so far since she came on the scene has been strategic and masterful.”
Originally published as Meghan Markle spotted entering exclusive club San Vicente Bungalows