Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's drama in the UK 'echoes' Princess Diana, says expert

Hannah FurnellSun, September 27, 2026 at 9:00 AM UTC

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's drama in the U.K. "echoes" Princess Diana, a PR expert says.

In late August, the Duke, 42, and Duchess of Sussex, 45, relocated back to the U.K. with their two children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five. Just days later, on September 7, as the family was reportedly settling in the Cotswolds, near London, King Charles issued a letter confirming the couple's royal status, stating they would remain non-working members of the Royal Family.

The Lord Chamberlain issued the letter on Charles's behalf as formal guidance in response to a "number of requests" for clarification. However, the move reportedly "surprised" Harry and Meghan. Following more drama, including Uganda's exit and then return to the Invictus Games, public relations specialist Grayce McCormick at Lightfinder Public Relations believes Harry and Meghan's lives now parallel that of Princess Diana.

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McCormick told The Express US, "There is also an interesting echo of Princess Diana, though it isn't an exact parallel.

"After her divorce, Diana lost her HRH style and stepped away from her official royal role, but she continued to build a very public humanitarian identity of her own. Harry has clearly inherited some of that instinct for service."

A PR expert says Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are 'echoing' Princess Diana (Image: Getty)

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The PR expert added, "I don't think independence from the institution automatically means rejecting service, family, or country."

Now, Earl Spencer thinks Harry and Meghan are echoing Diana for another reason. Ahead of the release of his new bombshell book about Diana, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, Spencer told the BBC that their treatment by the media has "echoes" of what happened to his sister.

He called press coverage of Harry and Meghan a "cancerous influence in their life" and said it would be "beholden on people to learn from Diana's example."

Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg at his Althorp estate, Spencer was asked if he believed Diana would "identify" with the scrutiny the couple continues to face.

"If you look at an article in a tabloid about Diana or the couple that you were mentioning, Harry and Meghan, you know, they can be really, really unpleasant," he replied. "And I think it would be really beholden on people to learn from Diana's example.

"I'm not here to speak for Harry and Meghan, but for anyone who's being destroyed in this way daily, it must be such a cancerous influence in their life."

He said he saw Diana's "tears of despair" regarding the media's coverage of her, adding she was "very, very sensitive to criticism."

Spencer said Diana was "really brought low by all that criticism," describing it as a "pity" to see "echoes of that now" in the treatment of his nephew and his wife.

The Royal Family has confirmed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will remain non-working royals (Image: Getty)

Still, despite the palace's firm stance on the couple's role within the Royal Family, McCormick believes "role clarity" remains Harry and Meghan's more pressing PR issue, weeks into their new lives in the U.K.

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She said, "To me, the more pressing PR issue is role clarity rather than crisis. They can be private citizens, not representing the Crown, while remaining enormously visible public figures.

"Those two things aren't contradictory. The challenge is ensuring the public understands when Harry and Meghan are acting personally, philanthropically, or commercially, versus when the working Royal Family is acting on behalf of the monarchy."

However, the PR expert added that she believes Harry and Meghan are "doing remarkably well, given the extraordinary scrutiny surrounding virtually every personal, family, and professional decision they make."

The specialist added, "They stepped back from being working royals years ago, and I think it's important to give them the same latitude we afford other people to choose where they live, how they raise their children, and what their next chapter looks like.

"I also wouldn't assume that spending more time in the U.K. means they are necessarily moving back permanently. They have an established home and life in California, and it seems entirely reasonable that their future could be transatlantic, with time in both the U.S. and the UK, depending on family, work, and philanthropic commitments."

McCormick further stated that she wouldn't characterize Harry's Invictus drama as evidence that everything is "unraveling."

Last week, Uganda's General Muhoozi Kainerugaba announced that the country would not take part in the Duke's upcoming Invictus Games "in order not to be construed as being opposed to" the King, "whom we deeply revere."

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry returned to the U.K. with their kids in late August (Image: Getty)

He told The Times that he was specifically concerned about the "Harry-Meghan nonsense" amid controversy over their return to the U.K. and Buckingham Palace's confirmation that they'll remain "private citizens."

Charles and Queen Camilla's principal private secretary, Sir Clive Alderton, called Uganda to say that while Charles was "moved" by the country's "sensitive consideration" of his opinion on the Invictus Games, he had "no problem" with the nation's participation. Uganda then announced it would reverse its withdrawal from the Invictus Games.

McCormick explained that the situation doesn't affect Harry and Meghan's return, saying, "Harry has built something meaningful and international for veterans, and the fact that controversy attaches to him doesn't erase the work itself.

"From a communications standpoint, one thing I've learned over years in PR is that once a dramatic narrative takes hold-' disaster,' 'feud,' 'snub,' or 'crisis'-every subsequent event tends to be interpreted through that lens.

"Sometimes the most responsible thing we can do is separate the actual event from the narrative being built around it."

The PR expert concluded, "My perspective is empathetic rather than sensational. I see two people trying to make personal choices for themselves and their children while living under a level of global scrutiny that very few families experience.

"They won't get every communications decision right-no public figure does-but I don't see their move back as a failure. I see a family trying to determine what works for them, not a permanent return."

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