Prince Harry and King Charles aides peace summit may be nothing more than a PR stunt, a royal expert has claimed. The meeting, which took place in London last week, did not see Harry, 40, or his father, King Charles, 76, in attendance.
It was instead attended by Tobyn Andreae, the King's communications secretary, and two members of staff from Harry, 40, and Meghan Markles team - Meredith Maines, the couples chief communications officer and head of their household in Montecito, California, and Liam Maguire, who runs the Sussexes' PR team in the UK. The meeting was believed to be an informal chat. While it is not known what was said at the meeting, many have seen it as the first step to reconciliation.
However, while there may be hope of a royal reunion, one expert suggested the meeting, which was revealed by The Mail on Sunday, could have been turned into a PR stunt, as the trio were spotted on a terrace overlooking a public park.
Speaking to The Sun, expert Hugo Vickers said: We have to ask ourselves, did some random figure pass by and say, 'Oh, hello, there's Tobyn Andreae talking to the Sussex team - take a photograph and sell it to the newspapers'.
"That seems to me to be a bit far-fetched. I think it's first of all very odd to have a meeting on a balcony if it's meant to be private."
The royal author added it looked to him as though "somebody leaked" the meeting.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have strongly denied leaking information about the meeting, with the visit understood to have been entirely routine and part of ongoing planning and engagement.
Yet, Mr Vickers said the Sussexes are celebrities now and will want to stay relevant in the news.
He said: They (Harry and Meghan) have to come up with a good news story and let's face it, if there's a thought of reconciliation, then this is a good story, because the relations between Prince Harry and his father and his brother particularly, have been very bad, which is sad.
Buckingham Palace has not publicly addressed the meeting, and no information about the topics discussed has been publicly revealed.
