John Lemuel Celebrity, Royals

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle in ‘publicity battle’ against royal family, correspondent claims

Britain's Prince Harry (R) and his US fiancee Meghan Markle arrive to attend a memorial service at St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square in London, on April 23, 2018, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the murder of Stephen Lawrence. - Prince Harry will attended a memorial on Monday marking the 25th anniversary of the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence in a killing that triggered far-reaching changes to British attitudes and policing. The prince and his fiancee Meghan Markle joined Stephen's mother Doreen Lawrence, who campaigned tirelessly for justice after her son was brutally stabbed to death at a bus stop on April 22, 1993. (Photo by Victoria Jones / POOL / AFP) (Photo credit should read VICTORIA JONES/AFP via Getty Images)

According to a journalist, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are engaged in a “publicity battle” with the British royals.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were presented with the 2022 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award on Tuesday night at the Ripple of Hope Gala in New York City. According to Page Six, the couple was recognized for their stance against racism within the monarchy, their work on mental health, and their social impact through the Archewell Foundation by RFK Foundation president Kerry Kennedy, who presented them with the award.

The ceremony comes just days before the premiere of their highly anticipated Netflix docuseries “Harry & Meghan,” a trailer for which was released last week while Prince William and Kate Middleton were in Boston, Massachusetts, for their first trip to the United States since 2014.

On the Australian show “Today,” U.S. correspondent for Nine Network Australia Jonathan Kearsley claimed that Prince Harry and Meghan’s trip to New York this week “is all part of the publicity battle royale that the Sussexes knew was coming and that they have certainly been pushing for in the lead-up to this highly anticipated Netflix special.” The claims could not be independently verified by International Business Times.

Kearsley confirmed that there has been no word from Buckingham Palace regarding the Sussexes’ new award or upcoming docuseries, but that the palace will most likely wait until the series has aired before commenting. He did, however, claim that the alleged “publicity battle” between the Sussexes and the royal family is visible.

The journalist said:

“Take a look at what is going on right now. You’ve got this award taking place tonight, [and] the first three episodes [of the docuseries] drop on Thursday. A week after that, the next three episodes drop, and on that very day, King Charles and Camilla will be joining William and Kate in a show of unity at a carol service as those final three Netflix episodes go.”

Kearsley pointed out that on the same day Prince Harry and Meghan received their award, Prince William and Kate Middleton shared intimate photos from their recent trip to Boston on social media.

The images show the Prince and Princess of Wales at the Earthshot Prize ceremony at Fenway Park on Friday night, as part of their three-day tour of the United States.

The journalist claimed:

“The one thing you can guarantee right now is that certainly, these divided sides of this royal family are not singing from the same song sheet at all. Today we have seen William and Kate release a lovely black-and-white image from behind the scenes of the couple at the Earthshot Awards in Boston. This is very much an image fight over publicity. It is an image fight over a legacy. Strap yourselves in because this is far from over.”

After Netflix released the first trailer for “Harry & Meghan” a day before Prince William’s second annual Earthshot Prize Awards in Boston, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were accused of attempting to steal the Prince and Princess of Wales’ thunder.

According to an unnamed source, the trailer was part of a “coordinated campaign” to “disrupt and clash” with Prince William and Middleton’s tour.

Prince Harry addressed the dynamics of the British royal family and the “dirty game” with the media in the latest teaser for the Sussexes’ docuseries, resulting in the couple stepping down from their senior royal roles in 2020.

As the trailer showed footage of the royal family on Buckingham Palace’s balcony during Trooping the Colour in 2019, Prince Harry said:

“There’s a hierarchy of the family. You know, there’s leaking, but there’s also planting of stories.”

Prince Harry also addressed the royal family’s history of mistreatment of women who marry into the royal family.

As footage of Princess Diana and Middleton being followed by photographers is shown in the teaser, the prince said:

“The pain and suffering of women marrying into this institution, this feeding frenzy. I was terrified. I didn’t want history to repeat itself.”

Markle added:

“I realized they’re never going to protect you.”

The first three episodes of “Harry & Meghan” will be available on Netflix on Thursday. The final three episodes will air on December 15.