Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Are Reportedly Hitting the Reset Button on Their Lives With The Invictus Games
The Invictus Games are a chance for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to start fresh. Reportedly “done with their former lives,” the international sporting event is, per an expert, a chance for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to move forward sans any comments about the royal family.
Harry and Meghan are reportedly ‘not talking about family’
After a steady drip of headline-making interviews about leaving royal life, from the 2021 Oprah sitdown to 2022’s Harry & Meghan and 2023’s Spare, it seems the couple aren’t going to make it a habit of rehashing their royal exit and rift with the royal family going forward.
A source close to the couple told The Telegraph Harry and Meghan are “done” with the rest of the royal family. “They are done with their former lives,” the source said. “They’re not talking about family. There’s no expectation that the family’s going to show up or acknowledge it or that anybody wants to see him. It’s over.”
Whereas the Invictus Games, which take place in Düsseldorf, Germany, from Sept. 9 – 16, 2023, following the premiere of Harry’s Heart of Invictus docuseries, isn’t going anywhere.
“Invictus is so important to him and is very much a part of his former life,” the source said. “It shows there could have been a world in which a hybrid model could have worked. But it also shows that in his new world, and in his new life, he’s still capable of accomplishing the things that are so very important to him.”
The Invictus Games are part of Harry and Meghan’s ‘new focus,’ expert says
“I’m not sure if Harry has engaged a new PR since the ‘car chase’ incident. But it feels like there is definitely a change in focus for him with the release of the new documentary. And his intentions towards [sic] doing more with Invictus in the public eye,” Renae Smith, a PR expert, told Express.
“In my opinion, this should have been the process from the beginning,” she said. “Working on behalf of others in a more charitable role is something that strengthens a person’s brand and shifts perceptions from negative to positive.”
Focusing on the Invictus Games may ‘shift perceptions’ of Harry and possibly Meghan
Smith continued, saying making the games a focal point could change how Harry’s viewed after a drop in popularity.
“If Harry continues along this line of ditching the attacks on his family or starting up trouble within the media, I believe that this can be a new start for him and that it will slowly begin to shift perceptions,” the expert said.
The one “provision,” according to Smith, is a humble approach. Meanwhile, Harry’d have to simultaneously “positions himself as a helper and supporter, not an awe-inspiring leader.”
As for how the Invictus Games might change public perception of Meghan, Smith remarked it’s too early to tell.
“I don’t understand yet how this will affect the public’s view of Megan outside the USA,” she said. “And I’m not sure if she focuses on charitable work, whether this will shift the public persona of her. But I feel that because Harry was involved in this prior to his issues, that the public are much more willing to embrace this as Harry going back to who he was.”
Meghan is expected to join Harry at the 2023 Invictus Games for the closing ceremony on Sept. 16, 2023.
