THE FUTURE

Public sentiment in the UK has been against the Sussexes for a while, but Americans were always less critical of the couple.

However, there are signs of the tide turning in the US media too, including in more serious publications like The Washington Post, especially after Meghan’s interview with The Cut.

She complained she and Harry had upset the royal family dynamic “just by existing”, that Harry had told her he’d “lost his dad” and that people still saw her as a “princess” despite not being one. She also explained why she shared only one picture of Archie soon after he was born. “Why would I give the very people that are calling my children the N-word a photo of my child before I can share it with the people that love my child? You tell me how that makes sense and then I’ll play that game.”

In an opinion piece, The Washington Post says Meghan and Harry need to adopt a new course in life.

“The only way for the Sussexes to build a truly new life and have a wider impact on the causes they care about is to stop making themselves the centre of the story.”

They also need to veer off “the trauma plot”, the article says. Talking about the past can be helpful and some issues – such as Meghan’s disclosure about her miscarriage – helped to dispel the culture of silence around pregnancy loss.

Still, the couple do have powerful friends such as Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry and Serena Williams to draw on and clout with various organisations. The president of leading American civil rights group NAACP sent them condolences in the wake of the queen’s death.

They also have fans. Jasmine Guillory, a New York Times bestselling author whose 2019 book Royal Holiday was inspired by the couple, says she’s excited to see what Meghan does next.

“I love that she’s creating her own story. A lot of people want her to back down and be quiet and stay out of the spotlight, and that’s not what she wants and that’s not what Harry wants either.”