Palace warned Meghan over ‘inane’ Vogue video
Advisers fear ‘cringeworthy’ clip will be used to mock her
Royal aides were ‘cringing’ last night after the Duchess of Sussex posted a ‘behind the scenes’ video from her Vogue magazine editorship showing her putting on a silly hat and playing with a party blower.
Meghan and Harry uploaded the clip to their Sussex Royal Instagram feed to celebrate the fact that the Forces For Change edition in august was the best-selling of the decade.
But the move was last night being seen as another salvo in the battle between the couple and Buckingham Palace, following their decision to step down from royal duties and move abroad.
The Mail understands that Meghan and British Vogue editor Edward Enninful had tried to put the video out several times since last summer but had been blocked by palace officials because it was seen to be too ‘inane’ and frivolous. They feared the image of Meghan wearing a party hat with a blower in her mouth could come back to haunt her, and could even be made into a ‘Megxit meme’, a humorous viral picture.
as revealed by the Mail yesterday, the couple are in the process of closing their Buckingham Palace office and axing their hugely experienced 15-strong team of london-based staff.
almost all major decisions – and certainly their social media strategy – are now being made by the couple themselves, who are basing themselves in Canada for the time being, and a coterie of US celebrity agents and publicists.
‘In all honesty, people are just cringing about this,’ one royal insider said yesterday.
‘Both Meghan and Edward Enninful had tried several times to get the video released but were advised by far wiser heads than theirs that it wasn’t a good idea.
‘People have this idea that palace advisers are a bit po-faced but that simply isn’t true. Just look at the brilliant footage of the Queen when she took part in that James Bond skit with Daniel Craig to highlight the london olympics.
‘But this just leaves her [Meghan] open to ridicule. Their staff advised them many times not to do this and, once again, she and Harry haven’t listened. It just goes to show where their priorities lie. likes and clicks online.’
Insiders have told the Mail that the couple’s decision to hire a ‘meddling’ group of celebrity US-based agents and publicists has made life difficult for their palace staff. The couple have been organising private engagements and briefings with their new team, and even hired a Canadian designer to create a new website without any involvement from royal advisers.
one insider described the Sussex Royal website as ‘infantile, embarrassing and showing absolutely zero grasp of the Royal Family and how things actually work outside of a ladybird Royal a-Z designed for kids’. The Mail understands that following ‘Megxit’, a small team of people will be employed privately in london to mastermind Harry’s new ecofriendly travel initiative, Travalyst.
It is thought the rest of the redundancies will be concluded by the spring, when Harry and Meghan’s ‘transition’ in stepping down as senior royals is formally concluded.
Saturday Essay – Pages 16 & 17
‘This just leaves her open to ridicule’