Meghan Markle and Prince Harry continue to make the headlines despite professing in early 2020 that they are quitting their royal life because of the lack of privacy. Some fans are convinced that this is all part of a major "PR push" for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
According to reports, Prince Harry and Markle have planned their interview with Oprah Winfrey a year before stepping out of their royal duties. They have also been unofficial book releases about their royal exit, Netflix deals, and various online appearances amid the pandemic.
On top of these projects and deals in the media, the Sussex pair have been accused of leaking stories to the press to put them in the spotlight. In recent weeks, Markle was spotted and photographed by the paparazzi with her son even as she has carefully avoided this kind of publicity in the past.
Fans of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have called out Markle for allegedly upstaging her sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, with these paparazzi photos. They questioned the timing of the paparazzi photo release as these happened on the birthday of Prince Louis, Middleton's youngest child with Prince William. Defenders of Markle, however, said that it's the prerogative of the publication or the photographer on when to publish the photos, especially when it does not indicate when they were taken.
A report from the Royal Observer suggested that Markle used to tip off the paparazzi when she was a Hollywood actress. She also allegedly tipped the press about the drones hovering over their mansion in California in July 2020.
That month, reports came about that several paparazzi drones were hounding the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in their first home in Los Angeles, forcing them to move to a more private enclave in Montecito. However, it was apparently Markle's publicist who leaked the information to the press about the drones that immediately became front-page news as it was a threat to their security.
Along with these controversial news stories came the press release for Harry and Markle's upcoming Netflix or Spotify deals. Interestingly, after paparazzi photos of Harry playing with his dog Pula were published on People, a product endorsement also appeared two weeks later in the same news outlet, promoting the toy used by the duke for his pet.
The news comes amid reports that the royals will permanently ditch Prince Harry and Markle when Prince Charles sits on the throne, which means they could lose their relevance and leverage as royals unless they ramp up their publicity.
