Meghan Markle has been accused of allegedly trying to “steal the show” with her appearance at the Invictus Games in Canada.
The Duchess of Sussex recently visited Canada for four days, joining Prince Harry for the seventh tournament of the Invictus Games.
Meghan shared various glimpses of her trip on her Instagram account, which she launched just last month after being inactive on social media since 2018 when she married into the Royal Family.
This included segments of various events the couple attended together, and also behind the scenes of “closed” engagements the press did not have access to.
But a report by the Daily Mail suggested the duchess’s latest Instagram spam and the Sussexes’s latest shift in strategy could potentially be a way she uses to boost her own image ahead of the launch of her new Netflix show, With Love, Meghan – due to air on March 4.
Inderdeep Bains, the outlet’s deputy chief reporter, has written a piece setting out what she thinks are Meghan’s PR intentions.
Her piece was titled: “The Invictus Games are Harry’s tribute to the bravery of injured military heroes. But this year they were also the perfect PR opportunity for Meghan ahead of her make-or-break Netflix series…Talk about stealing the show!”
She claimed that the Sussex couple used a different strategy this year, having their own team and limiting access to various events for the majority of the press.
The writer also claimed the Sussexes decide which engagements are open to the press and sign off any photographs released by Invictus, when previously there would be at least one pool reporter and photographer present for key events to ensure wider coverage for the athletes and their families.
This, along with Meghan Markle’s updates, appeared to result in members of the media having to resort to reporting from her Instagram due to her material being released before anything else.
A veteran reporter told the outlet: “There was a whole morning of ‘closed’ events in [the ski resort of] Whistler.”
Another one said: “I don’t know why I’ve bothered to come all the way over here, I could have looked at her Instagram from home.”
One Invictus insider added: “They appear to be working off their own agenda and my impression is a few people here would have been left feeling uncomfortable.”
Another one said: “Previously, images would be put out all around by the official photographers – but these days things are more instant, so we’re seeing it on Meghan’s Instagram first now. Pictures taken of the Sussexes need to be signed off by them before they can be released, so sometimes we see the pictures quite quickly, other times it can take up to a day.”
The journalist added: “So is the ‘agenda’ Meghan’s personal PR? With her make-or-break Netflix lifestyle series With Love, Meghan, due to launch on March 4, it would be natural if the duchess was looking to boost her profile.
“Whether Invictus benefited from Meghan’s presence as much as she benefited from being there? That, perhaps, depends on who you ask.”