Alison Boshoff: Harry and Meghan’s Plan to Win Back the Public

In Nottingham on Thursday, Harry and Meghan projected an unmistakable air of confidence, polish and celebration.

From within the crowd, my colleague Jan Moir described the scene as resembling a Hollywood Bowl reception, rather than an event held before a relatively modest gathering on an industrial estate.

Yet friends of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex say their first UK walkabout since Megxit also delivered a sobering realisation. “They understand that some people have come to dislike them intensely, and that others object to what they did,” I was told.

For Team Sussex, that represents a significant admission. The observation was shared as supporters sought to underline the importance of the Nottingham appearances and outline what the couple may do next.

According to friends, Harry and Meghan had been genuinely anxious about how they would be received. They were therefore relieved by the warmth of the response, even though the crowd was relatively small: roughly 150 people attended, with about half believed to be members of the media.

Their friends insist the Sussexes are not primarily focused on what they describe as the “haters”, accepting that some critics will always be vocal. Their greater concern is how they are viewed by people who pay little attention to royal controversy. The couple hopes to reach that audience through public appearances that are deliberately described as modest, respectful and low-key.

Prince Harry is said to be “very pleased” with the outcome of the day and played a detailed role in organising it. That reportedly included asking Meghan to wear British designers as a visible sign of support for the country they now regard as home again.

“It felt like a royal visit, even though it technically wasn’t one,” a friend said. “They were thrilled by the welcome. Harry is delighted.”

There are expected to be further public appearances from the couple, a prospect likely to unsettle their critics within the Palace. The word “humble” has also featured prominently in descriptions of their approach, which was intended to be communicated through meetings with grassroots charities despite Meghan’s £3,386 ensemble.

Suggestions that the Sussexes are deliberately encroaching on the Royal Family’s territory are being firmly rejected, although not everyone may find that explanation wholly persuasive.

One friend of the couple told me: “They are trying to return gradually, with humility, and hope that this approach will earn public support. There is no plan to provoke the King or deliberately create tension.

“This kind of charitable work is what makes Harry happy. It is part of who he is and has nothing to do with his relationship with the Royal Family.”

That interpretation overlooks the couple’s decision to step away from royal duties in 2020, followed by years of criticism aimed at the institution and members of Harry’s family in interviews, books and television projects. Harry also described the couple’s departure for California as a “Freedom Flight”.

Nonetheless, the Sussexes were reportedly so encouraged by this week’s engagements that those around them believe they have achieved a meaningful shift in public sentiment. The reception was apparently positive enough for Meghan to begin searching seriously for a property in the UK.

Their representatives had previously said that Harry, Meghan and their children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, left California in August to spend an unspecified period in Britain. However, friends have privately indicated that the couple intends to remain in the UK until both children have completed their schooling.

During that time, Meghan is expected to travel regularly to the United States to continue managing her business interests.

Until now the family have been staying in a house on the estate of a wealthy friend on the fringes of the Cotswolds. Friends confirm they are searching for a new home with lots of land, no public rights of way and nine bedrooms at least. Their budget is £10million.

A friend said this week: ‘I think we are going to see Meghan moving to look more actively at property soon. I know that they have an agent looking at what is available for them in terms of houses and he is sending everything which might suit to their team to look at virtually. I think it’s about to go up a notch.’

As for their public-facing endeavours, the friend adds: ‘They can achieve great support for charities and intend to do so. There will be more days like [Thursday] going forward.

‘People want the old Harry, the Harry who they loved. This was a successful event with no narrative other than supporting the organisations.

‘For security reasons it had the shape of a royal event but that is because, ultimately, that is who they are.’

The positivity expressed by pals runs counter to recent speculation the Sussexes might throw in the towel on this British adventure.

Why? Well, one of the reasons behind the move, to spend time with Harry’s father, King Charles, seems not to have happened. They don’t appear to have seen each other since taking tea back in July.

The King has been busy – with some reports suggesting he’s even too busy to take his son’s calls.

As Our News Outlet’s Royal Editor Rebecca English reported yesterday, there is ‘irritation’ over the quasi-royal engagement this week, which stole the King’s thunder as he and the Queen opened the Senedd in Wales on Thursday.

Another key aspect to the move was Harry’s quest for security provided by the Home Office. Harry has spent six years in fruitless litigation over his desire for security. It seems that his hopes of resolving the security problem have faded as the summer passed.

Friends this week suggest that Harry’s camp are bracing themselves for a yet another ‘no’.

I am told: ‘The liaison team is significant. It’s not just a question of having a phone number to ring any more. There is a bit of a protective bubble there for them now and a pattern has been established.

‘There is a liaison officer embedded with them and he can call on a team as and when he judges it is needed, so they do have more resources now in reality than before. It feels like a middle ground. It’s a support to them.’

That sounds as if his team accept that the status quo may be as good as they are going to get.

The Duke and Duchess travelled in a convoy of two Range Rovers with their own security while Nottinghamshire police provided support with one unmarked police car, one traffic police car and three community policemen on hand.

So the road to unpicking Megxit – as revealed here in July – is being travelled. And the perceived success of this week’s event is a significant staging-post on this journey. Everything looked as if the clock had been wound back.

The pair were even assisted by Clara Loughran, walking a few paces behind. She was the Sussexes’ senior programme coordinator in 2015.

After being let go during Megxit, she went on to set up her own consultancy. This week was the first time she’s been seen with the couple since.

As for their final desired destination, one could do worse than consider the words of a friend who spoke to Hello! Magazine this week, saying that the couple do not consider themselves bound by the Sandringham agreement, the settlement the late Queen hammered out in January 2020, which denied their request to be ‘half-in, half-out’ royals.

The magazine’s royal editor Emily Nash was told: ‘They never agreed they wouldn’t be half in half out. That was what was decided and foisted upon them. They’re just living their lives and they can, because they’re financially independent.’

Now Harry is insisting that he is royal, that can never be changed, and that he will undertake charity work as and whenever he wants because ‘that is who he is’.

If it makes it look as if he’s a working royal, the Sussex logic goes, that is someone else’s problem.

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