THE DUCHESS OF SUSSEX COMES BACK FIGHTING AFTER THE SCRUTINY CAUSED BY TV DOCUMENTARY And Meghan: An African Journey Harry
THE DUCHESS OF SUSSEX LOOKS RADIANT AS SHE JOINS A ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION WITH SURPRISE GUEST PRINCE HARRY AMID SCRUTINY OVER THEIR CANDID DOCUMENTARY CONFESSIONS
The Duchess of Sussex showed no signs of being bruised by the media storm sparked by her and Prince Harry’s astonishing TV documentary as she stepped out in style.
Meghan, 38, looked happy and composed as she joined The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust and One Young World round table discussion on how young leaders are creating change for empowering women.
And husband Harry, 35, made a surprise appearance!
Seeming oblivious to the dramatic reaction caused by the controversial Harry And Meghan: An African Journey, the royal pair showed little sign of strain as they arrived at the event in Harry’s electric Audi e-tron.
Meghan matched her red Hugo Boss leather pencil skirt with a low-cut jumper and towering heels in what could have been a fashion hark back to her days of playing hot shot lawyer Rachel Zane in Suits.
Making their first public appearance together since the airing of the ITV special, the pair looked every inch the power couple, with Meghan joking about Harry ‘crashing the party’.
Meghan told guests: ‘In terms of gender equality, which is something I have championed for a long time, I think that conversation can’t happen without men being a part of it. So for this reason, it made complete sense to let him [Harry] join today, so thank you for letting him crash the party.’
The meeting took place at Windsor Castle near Frogmore Cottage, where the Sussexes are raising their six-month-old son Archie.
Earlier in the week, Meghan – who, according to friend Jameela Jamil, is ‘not a prop who will be silenced’ – looked regal at the launch of the annual One Young World Summit at the Royal Albert Hall.
Radiant in a recycled purple dress by Babaton and navy
Manolo Blahnik heels, a beaming Meghan was the night’s star attraction.
After greeting fans and guests, Meghan took her place on stage, along with the likes of Ellie Goulding and Sir Bob Geldof.
Both events no doubt provided welcome relief from the fall out surrounding the one-off show – which was filmed during her and Harry’s ten-day African tour – where Meghan admitted finding her first year of marriage to Harry challenging. ‘I really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a stiff upper lip. I tried, I really tried,’ she said, adding: ‘But I think what that does internally is probably really damaging.’
She also confessed to feeling ‘vulnerable’ in the wake of huge public interest in her life, and told how friends tried to warn her not to wed Harry. ‘I didn’t get it. So it’s been complicated.’
And in another highly candid admission which generated headlines across the globe, Harry confirmed speculation that there are tensions in his relationship with his brother, the Duke of Cambridge.
‘As brothers you have good days, you have bad days. We are certainly on different paths at the moment. Part of this role and part of this job and this family being under the pressure that it’s under inevitably, you know, stuff happens. But look, we’re brothers. We’ll always be brothers,’ Harry said.
The prince was also keen to emphasise the depth of feeling he has for William, insisting: ‘I will always be there for him and I know he will always be there for me.’
While the pair’s comments led to an outpouring of support from many, they also drew widespread criticism – with William, 37, said to be particularly angry. The brothers are reported to have spoken privately in the wake of the screening on October 20, with the BBC’S royal correspondent Jonny Dymond saying: ‘I heard from a very good source that Prince William was furious with his younger brother for doing this interview and let him know in no uncertain terms.’
In addition, a Kensington Palace source apparently told reporters that William is concerned about Harry’s wellbeing, believing him and Meghan to be in ‘a fragile place’.
Even Her Majesty the Queen was said to be unhappy about it, with Phil Dampier – author of Royally Suited: Harry And Meghan In Their Own Words – saying she is worried about the ‘direction Harry and Meghan are taking’.
Eagle-eyed royal fans were also quick to notice that a framed photo of the pair had been removed from a table in her Audience Room at Buckingham Palace when she recently met the High Commissioner for Grenada.
Elsewhere, many likened Meghan’s heartfelt
‘i will always be there for him’
confession to the famous 1995 episode of Panorama, in which the late Diana, Princess of Wales blinked back tears while talking about life in the public gaze.
In a welcome break from all of the drama, Harry and Meghan reportedly plan to take a six-week break which will begin next month, after they complete their final official engagements of the year.
But in another twist, they may use the time off to start planning a move abroad. In the TV interview, Harry spoke of their dream to live in South Africa, saying: ‘We’ve just come from Cape Town, that would be an amazing place for us to be able to base ourselves… The rest of our lives, especially our life’s work, will be predominantly focused on Africa, on conservation.’
With question marks lingering over their domestic arrangements and concerns about the state of Harry and William’s relationship, speculation is also mounting about the impact any rift may have on the future bond between their children.
In the summer, it was reported that Harry and Meghan chose to relocate from Kensington Palace to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor because they want baby Archie to have a more sheltered upbringing than his cousins – Princes George, six, and Louis, one, and Princess Charlotte, four.
And with the two royal families not seen together in public since July, it seems that the road ahead could be a distinctly rocky one.