Meghan and Harry ‘need to top up brand with royalty’: PR expert
A PR expert claims the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “need to top up brand with royalty” as the couple return to England to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
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A PR expert has said Meghan Markle and Prince Harry “need to top up their brand with royalty” as the couple return to England to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
According to Pauline Maclaran, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Research at Royal Holloway in London, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex need to maintain their royal connections so their brand in the US has a “competitive edge” compared to other celebrities.
“I think they really need to top up their brand with a little bit of royalty and reinforce their connections,” she told Express.co.uk.
“Of course, there are the family connections too and I’m sure the families do want some kind of reconciliation.
“But I can’t help but think Harry and Meghan are definitely trying to reinforce their brand with the royal connections and being part of these very crucial celebrations.
“If Harry and Megan don’t keep up the royal connections then really their brand in the US has not got a competitive edge to differentiate them more strongly from other celebrities.”
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Professor Maclaran added it would be beneficial to the monarchy if the pair reconciled with the royal family.
“On the royal family’s side if they don’t have some sort of reconciliation with Harry and Meghan they are really lacking that diversity that they very badly need,” she said.
“Especially with the increased pressure from the trips that were deemed PR disasters to the Caribbean both by Kate and William, and Sophie and Edward.”
Harry and Meghan say they will return to England with their children next month for the four-day party marking the Queen’s 70 years on the throne.
The 96-year-old monarch controversially ordered that only working royals could appear on the balcony on June 2 – ruling out the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
A palace spokesman said: “After careful consideration, the Queen has decided this year’s traditional Trooping the Colour balcony appearance on Thursday 2nd June will be limited to Her Majesty and those members of the royal family who are currently undertaking official public duties on behalf of the Queen.”
The symbolic move is likely to be interpreted as a snub to Harry and Meghan, who quit the monarchy for a new life in the US in 2020.
The decision would also rule out Prince Andrew who was forced to step back as a working royal after becoming embroiled in a civil lawsuit brought by Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking victim Virginia Giuffre who accused him of sexually abusing her when she was 17.
Prince Andrew was reportedly forced to settle the case with a huge payout speculated to be as much as $A26.5 million.
Since stepping down as senior royals, the Sussexes made allegations about the royal family during an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
During the explosive tell-all, the former Suits actress claimed a member of the royal family had concerns over their son Archie’s skin colour and the Sussexes had been upset over Archie not being given the title of prince.
Prince Harry also is set to release his tell-all memoir due later this year.
– With The Sun
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