Royal experts have weighed in on the ‘strategies’ Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have used this year, highlighting how positive their ‘professional separation’ has been for their image.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have already signed off on their jam-packed 2024 — marking the end of the year with a digital Christmas card.
The royal notice offers a rare snapshot of the young family’s life in California and features images of Harry, 40, and Meghan, 43, embracing their young family, alongside pictures from the pair’s charitable endeavours.
Reflecting on the last 365 days, GB News’ Royal Editor Svar Nanan-Sen has penned how he believes they successfully executed ‘two clear strategies’ to improve their public standing.
The first, he claims, was their philanthropic four-day trip to Colombia and their three-day international tour in Nigeria.
The journalist explained these trips replicated Royal Family tours in ‘all but name’.
“The tours were successful and helped spread awareness on important issues with some engagements linking to the Duke of Sussex’s Invictus Games,” the expert wrote.
The second ‘strategy’ that the royal couple – who married in 2018 – adopted this year was to go for a ‘professional separation’.
“Away from the international visits, the Sussexes opted for a ‘professional separation’ where they have focused on building their individual brands in the US rather than pursuing power couple status,” Nanan-Sen commented.
Recently, both Harry and Meghan have taken part in solo engagements across New York and California. Harry also traveled to the UK to meet his father, King Charles III, without his wife and attended the funeral of his uncle, Lord Robert Fellowes, in August.
Meanwhile, the former Suits actress made a glamorous solo appearance at the 2024 Paley Honors Fall Gala to support her friend, Tyler Perry, and has been concentrating on her various business ventures.
Body language expert Judi James believes that this ‘strategy’ has worked in the happy couple’s favor.
“The year did start well in body language terms, with two ‘royal’ tours that saw the glittering couple looking tactile and bonded and even one rather passionate kissing display during a salsa class that kept their branding as both a professional and a romantic duo very much alive,” she told The Mirror.
“Since then, however, fans have witnessed a professional separation that seems to have developed gradually and deliberately in recent times. We now go months without seeing Harry and Meghan together in public, which creates an emotional void in terms of all the romantic gestures the couple is known for. This has always been central to their narrative of sacrificing so much for love and to be together.”
She further explained that working separately seems to “show up some differences” in how they handle public appearances, with Harry appearing “relaxed and playful” while Meghan seems “more vulnerable.”
“Harry and Meghan might shine apart but together their body language sets off Gamma rays,” the specialist added.