Chaos and confusion reign as Harry loses media battle
9 hours ago
Reuters
Prince Harry’s visit this week was meant to be the dramatic moment when his wife Meghan appeared before the UK public for the first time in almost four years
That would focus the world’s attention on his passion project, the Invictus Games, which would be promoted in London and Birmingham with a series of media-friendly events
Instead it turned into a series of unfortunate events – with crisis comms appearing to be hit by its own crisis – leaving behind a vapour trail of confusion
Meghan made no public appearances during the week and Prince Harry’s good causes were overshadowed, with nightmare timing, by defeat in court against Associated Newspapers
Reuters
There was a private family reunion between the King and Queen and Prince Harry, Meghan and their children, Archie and Lilibet, on Friday
But there were no pictures from this secretive get-together and the private moment at Highgrove hasn’t really shifted the narrative on what proved a difficult week for the visitors from California
Team Sussex might already have expected a tough press for their trip to the UK and their supporters feel that the media’s treatment of Harry and Meghan is the biggest stitch-up since the Bayeux Tapestry
But even before Harry’s visit had begun there was chaos
A war of words, with acrimonious rival briefings, had taken place between Prince Harry’s team and Buckingham Palace over where he would be staying during his visit
It emerged he had already been told he wasn’t staying there and Buckingham Palace, the establishment that Harry challenges, ended up looking more convincing
But even worse followed, with such coincidentally bad timing that it would have suited a disaster movie
At the very start of the first engagement about the Invictus Games, as Prince Harry had taken to the podium, word spread that he had lost all his claims against the publishers of the Daily Mail
It was a much bigger defeat than many had anticipated, with the news buzzing around phones in the room as he began his speech
Plans for an on-camera statement from Prince Harry that afternoon were hastily ditched. Press would no longer be able to go inside an event planned for the following day
Harry – famously nicknamed Harold by his brother William – was having a bad week
Two of the Invictus events had already been completely overshadowed, taking away attention from his work supporting injured military veterans
And while Team Sussex stumbled, the Prince of Wales was enjoying a trouble-free visit to Hastings, a place famous for a battle where William defeated Harold
Meghan will not appear at public events during Harry UK trip
Harry’s bad news lands at wrong time, but prince sticks to script
Buckingham Palace says Prince Harry will not stay at palace
The Duchess of Sussex is a polarising figure in the UK, provoking strong reactions among her supporters and her detractors. But there is no denying how much she fascinates the public and how much that can bring attention to causes
A row over security meant that she had already been pulled from the start of Prince Harry’s week in the UK
But there was still the possibility that Meghan would show up later in the week, as originally planned, particularly at the big Invictus showcase at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre
On the evening before that big moment, which would bring together Invictus competitors and supporters along with the TV cameras, that appearance was ruled out too. Meghan wasn’t attending any public events in the UK
That still left open the prospect of a private visit – and indeed on Friday afternoon Meghan was part of the meeting with the King, along with her husband and children, revealed in a Palace statement with only the barest of details
What it also left was an impression of confusion and uncertainty. It was more will-they-won’t-they
PA Media
However at the Invictus event in Birmingham, in the NEC’s cavernous exhibition halls, you could see what was being missed
Here was the Invictus community that is Prince Harry’s “second family”, people he has known and worked with for many years, a place of trust, where Harry was the hero
He worked the room – and it was a very big room – with great patience, hugging and chatting, joking, posing for pictures, trying out a few of the sports events. His support was clearly deeply valued
In a spirit of inclusion, he tried out a new British Sign Language sign that had been designed to say Invictus Games, when you imagine he might have wanted to try out some more direct sign language
Prince Harry was a relaxed figure here, showing his respect for the competitors who had overcome so much adversity. They inspired him and in turn they showed him their affection
If the Sussexes seem to <a href="https://todaytrendnews7.com/health-department-reports-travel/” title=”Health department reports travel”>travel with unnecessary drama, then what Harry’s visit left behind was a poignant sense of lost opportunity
UK Royal Family
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
