A royal expert claims that Prince Harry appeared “bitter” during his recent trip to Nigeria with his wife, Meghan Markle.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who withdrew from the royal family in 2020, concluded a successful three-day visit to Nigeria earlier this month. Despite no longer serving as official working royals, critics compared the trip to a traditional royal tour.
Royal author and expert Tom Quinn exclusively told the Mirror: “Harry and Megan see their recent trip to Nigeria as a huge success, but for Harry every success is another kind of failure while his family refuse to acknowledge his efforts and steadfastly refuse to apologise for everything that had happened in the past.
“In Nigeria and even with Meghan at his side and regularly holding his hand he still has a permanent look of bitterness on his face.”
The trip to Nigeria was widely deemed a success for Harry and Meghan and they have also hinted that there could be future trips for the couple, as in a message thanking the people of Nigeria following their return home, they described it as “the first of many trips”.
However, it’s also been noted that these appearances and “faux royal tours” have the potential to “deepen the ongoing royal rift”, according to an expert who highlighted that the Nigeria trip “infuriated” the royal family.
Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, public relations guru Lynn Carratt from Press Box PR said: “These faux-Royal tours could deepen their rift with the Royal Family, if not handled correctly. Their Nigerian tour bared all that hallmarks of a Royal Tour which was said to [have] infuriated the palace.”
Ms Carratt noted that she believes if tours like this are related to their independent work like the Invictus Games, “then these tours are good for the PR of their brand”.
She went on: “I don’t believe the Nigerian tour helped to increase their popularity in the UK and USA, but it did showcase to the African nations the work that to couple can do and will certainly have increased their popularity there.”
The Nigeria trip, which was on behalf of the Invictus Games, isn’t thought to be the only Africa trip that the couple wish to go on. Harry and Meghan would like to visit another country after basking in the success of their Nigerian tour.
A source recently told us that Ghana is in the Sussexes’ sights, revealing: “There is already a lot of talk and excitement in Ghana, everyone is so keen for Harry and Meghan to come and experience the great culture and warmth.”
During Harry’s trip to the UK, he reportedly asked for a meeting with his father but was denied due to his father’s busy work schedule.
A spokesperson said in a statement at the time, that the King was “busy” with a “full programme”. They added: “The duke of course is understanding of his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon.”