Despite potentially damaging claims made by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Harry & Meghan, Prince William may be no worse for wear. An expert says the couple’s “punching,” but because they’ve made “themselves very unrelatable” in the Netflix docuseries, there may not be “too much damage.”
An expert thinks ‘Harry & Meghan’ won’t ‘damage’ Prince William
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No “damage” to the Prince of Wales? Edward Coram James, PR expert and CEO of Go Up, thinks it’s possible. The reason, as he told Newsweek, is partly because the royal family’s not engaging with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
The couple, he said, “seem to be punching, but no one is punching back.” Additionally, not taking any responsibility for the state of the royal family tensions has lessened the potential “damage.”
Overall, the crisis expert said William could come out of it relatively unscathed. “I don’t think this will damage William,” he said. “From a crisis communications point of view, I think the Sussexes have by and large managed to make themselves very unrelatable.”
“And because they’ve managed to make themselves very unrelatable,” he explained, “the people they are accusing don’t necessarily experience too much damage.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Netflix docuseries could be ‘damaging’ if Prince William gives it ‘oxygen’, expert explains
As for how Harry & Meghan could become “damaging” to William, Coram James said all he’d have to do is comment.
“I think what could be damaging is if William gives oxygen to it,” he said. “So if the royals start making lots of strenuous denials, people now associate silence with denial with the royal family and commenting as panicking.”
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In Harry and Meghan’s six-part docuseries, particularly the later episodes, there are multiple claims about William. Harry recalled William being outraged during a meeting at Sandringham to discuss his and Meghan’s exit. “It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me,” Harry said.
William was also accused of being involved in a staffer making a witness statement in a lawsuit brought by Meghan. Harry also claimed the palace put his name — and William’s — on a false, joint statement without his permission.
A royal expert says Prince William feels ‘very badly betrayed’ after ‘Harry & Meghan’
According to royal expert and author Katie Nicholl, a royal family reconciliation isn’t on the agenda.
Given the “personal” nature of Harry’s allegations against William, the New Royals thinks “it really does set back any chance of [healing] a rift for the foreseeable future,”(via Entertainment Tonight).
William feels “very badly betrayed” by Harry and is “incredibly upset” and “will be taking this very personally,” she said. “Even if William hasn’t watched this docuseries,” she continued, “and it’s my understanding that he hasn’t, he will be very aware of the headlines.”
“He will be very aware of the damage inflicted on his reputation. And I think it also goes a long way in explaining why the brothers are not on talking terms.”
Nicholl also said there are concerns about private conversations becoming public with Harry’s memoir, Spare, due out in January 2023.
