Why Harry & Meghan will always try to hog the limelight to survive – their ‘pap chase’ drama said it all, says expert
MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry’s always try to hog the limelight, according to a royal expert.
Outspoken royal author Tom Bower spoke on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show and used the example of the Sussexes’ “paparazzi car chase” in New York last May.
The royal couple claimed they were involved in a “car chase” with paparazzi in New York – which reportedly lasted for “over two hours“.
However, cops and a cab driver slammed the claims, dubbing them “exaggerated“.
Tom told The Sun’s Royal Editor Matt Wilkinson that the Sussexes’ reputation has been negatively affected in recent years, and celebs such as the Beckhams are distancing themselves.
He claimed: “Well, right now if you’re an American, you get very little by being next to people who are the subjects of so much criticism.
“I don’t think they can solve it, the momentum is either up or down.
“If they disappeared entirely from view, they lose credibility, lose value, lose worth, and if they’re in public like the Tillman award or other awards that she has received or that ridiculous trip to New York where they were saying be chased by the paparazzi, they can only lose.”
The Duke of Sussex was recently honoured with the Pat Tillman Award for Service at the 2024 ESPYS – despite an ex-military chief urging him to turn it down.
According to ESPN, the Pat Tillman Award for Service is “given to a person with a strong connection to sports who has served others in a way that echoes the legacy of the former NFL player and US Army Ranger, Pat Tillman”.
Pat’s mum, Mary, has previously hit out at the duke saying there are others “far more fitting” and with less “privilege” who could win the gong.
Tom claimed the couple – who stepped down from royal duties in 2020 – “don’t have credibility” anymore, either in Britain or across the pond.
He continued: “There’s no doubt at all that the Sussexes have alienated huge numbers of people not only in Britain, especially in Britain, but also now in California.
“They want to be aligned with famous people to improve their own status.
“And they’re finding more and more people moving away from them.
“Because in America, they’re far, far more transactional than in Britain.
The 'rift' between the Beckhams and the Sussexes
THE Beckhams and Sussexes have enjoyed a close friendship over the years, but cracks have formed in the last few years.
The Duke of Sussex allegedly called David to accuse him and his wife Victoria of leaking stories, leaving David ‘furious.’
David was also “snubbed” by Harry after flying for 22 hours from London to Sydney at the royal’s request, for the 2018 Invictus Games.
Cracks first started emerging in the pair’s friendship in spring 2022 when the former footballer invited Prince William and Kate to his son Brooklyn’s wedding – and not Harry and Meghan.
At the time, a source said: “David’s attachment and history go back with William and Kate and they have a very strong relationship and they were their choice of wedding guests.
“It was always about them, it was never about Meghan and Harry.
“They are the people David and Victoria are attached to and it’s always been about them because they’ve had a long history together.”
And perhaps it wasn’t a coincidence that after the apparent snub, Meghan seemingly stopped wearing Victoria’s designs – while Kate wore them more frequently.
“You know, what do I get by being next to Meghan and Harry?”
Since stepping down as working royals, the couple have done a number of high-profile interviews about the family, including their bombshell Oprah Winfrey chat.
Prince Harry later released his controversial Spare biography and their Harry & Meghan Netflix documentary, which criticised the royal family.
In a statement following their “paparazzi car chase”, Meghan and Harry’s spokesperson called it a “relentless pursuit”, which could have been “catastrophic”.
But American police sources told ABC News that they only had 20 minutes of interaction with Harry and Meghan.
This seems at odds with the Sussexes’ statement, which claimed that the incident lasted two hours.
However, it may well be that Harry and Meghan were not interacting with cops throughout the whole incident.
NYPD sources also told the outlet that the footage they reviewed so far does not show the kind of near “catastrophic” behaviour from their statement.
A timeline of Prince Harry's family feud
The first hints of friction reportedly came after William was introduced to Meghan when she was staying at Kensington Palace.
Once she’d returned home to Canada, William and Harry sat down for a brother-to-brother chat.
He knew Harry was already head-over-heels for her but it has been claimed he advised him to take it slowly.
The younger prince reportedly didn’t take too kindly to the advice, with one royal source saying he “went mental”.
Then in June 2019 Harry and Meghan officially split off from the charity they shared with William and Kate.
The Royal Foundation will be divided between the Sussexes and Cambridges as the couples focus on their own separate charitable endeavours.
Prince William and Prince Harry first established the Royal Foundation in 2009 before Kate joined two years later shortly after their engagement was announced.
The trio would often appear together at events and the Foundation had huge successes with projects like the Invictus Games for injured veterans and the mental health Heads Together campaign.
The Royal Foundation said the decision was made following the conclusion of a review into its structure – but added both couples will continue to work together in the future.
Harry and Meg were living in close proximity to Kate and Wills within the Kensington Palace estate, but they switched to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor before baby Archie was born.
The move further increased rumours of a fallout.
Harry also hinted in his ITV documentary “Harry and Meghan, An African Journey” that he and his brother had grown apart.
In 2021, Harry and Meghan give their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey where Harry accused his dad of cutting him off financially.
Harry then jetted back to UK to join William in unveiling a statue to their mother Princess Diana in the grounds of Kensington Palace. But sources claimed William didn’t want to attend the memorial amid their ongoing rift.
In 2022, just before their grandmother the Queen died, sources claimed Kate acts as a “peacemaker” between the brothers.
Harry claimed his brother “knocked him to the floor” during an argument about Meghan, in his memoir.
In Spare, Harry said William branded Meghan “rude” and “difficult” during a row.
Harry alleged William “grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and … knocked me to the floor”.
He said he was left with a visible injury to his back following the argument in 2019 at Nottingham Cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace, where he was living at the time.
In January this year, Harry flew in to be with Charles after the monarch’s shock cancer diagnosis.
Harry flew back to the US the following day – without seeing Wills.
In May he visited the UK for a three-day visit without seeing King Charles or Prince William.
Meanwhile, a high-ranking police source told the New York Post that there were “no collision reports or 911 calls” and that the chase “definitely wasn’t two hours”.
The couple were in the Big Apple for a Ms Foundation gala where Meghan was presented with the 2023 Women of Vision Award.
They entered and left the venue publicly allowing for pictures.
The cab driver who took Harry and Meghan on part of their journey has since told of his experience, adding he didn’t feel he was in danger at any point.