Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Are PR Disasters, Royal Insiders Say

After massive criticism on recent moves by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, royal watchers have described the past few months as a summer of hell for the duke and duchess.

From Markle's stint in Vogue's September issue to their family's travel arrangements, the couple took many critic hits.

Royal author Lady Colin Campbell described to Page Six that the couple's recent behavior as a "public relations disaster" for the royal palace.

“Meghan is clearly calling the shots, but she’s a minor operator who is playing in the big leagues and mucking it up in the most catastrophic fashion,” Campbell said.

One of their most recent controversial moves had been the use of four private jets in the span of 11 days for their holiday trips.

Prince Harry, who recently launched an ecofriendly project in Amsterdam among other works related to environment conservation, has explained that the purpose of taking private jets was to keep his family safe.

“I spend 99 per cent of my life travelling the world by commercial,” said Prince Harry during a Q&A in one of his events in the Netherlands as quoted by Express.

“Occasionally there needs to be an opportunity [to fly privately] based on a unique circumstance to ensure that my family are safe,” he added.

Elton John defended the couple by explaining in an Instagram post that he lent the couple his private jet for their privacy and safety.

Despite the explanation, some critics have branded the couple as ‘eco-hypocritical’.

Apart from controversy on their travel arrangements, the Duke and Duchess have also faced public outcry on their efforts towards having more privacy especially after the birth of Archie.

The British press had been rattled by the Sussex couple team’s lack of effort to release information surrounding Archie’s birth last May. Two months later, fuel had been added to the controversy flame after Prince Harry and Markle preferred a private christening ceremony for their firstborn.

The former “Suits” actress had also been on the receiving end of much harsher criticism. Last month, a writer accused her of showing bias against white women on choosing the advocates she covered on the British Vogue issue for September.

Fans quickly raced to the duchess’s defense while some attributed all the harsher criticism to racist bias against Markle as a woman of color.