Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's PR shakeup 'too late' after series of 'unwise' moves

The royal expert says the couple should have had more PR help since they stepped down as senior royals. (Image: Getty)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s shakeup of their PR operation in the UK should have happened "quite a long time ago", a royal expert has warned.

This week the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made changes to their Public Relations team, including UK hire Charlie Gipson, who will serve as the couple’s main point of contact for all UK and European media, working alongside the couple's Stateside PR team.

Gipson, who joins their team from global communications company Edelman, has previously led campaigns for high-profile clients including tech giants Samsung and Instagram.

But Richard Fitzwilliams warned Harry and Meghan could have done with more PR muscle when they were dealing with the fallout of stepping away from the Royal Family

"They urgently needed this quite a long time ago," he told GB News. "They needed far more PR help since they stepped down as working royals.”

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Meghan and Harry (Image: Getty)

Fitzwilliams believes a number of comments in Harry's memoir Spare were “very unwise,” pointing to his admission of past drug use, as well as "mentioning the number of Taliban he took out during his tour of Afghanistan."

Harry's admission of past drug use leaves him faceing questions as to how he was able to move to the US, where a visa application can be blocked if an applicant admits to illicit drug use.

A representative for Prince Harry has been approached for comment.

The Duke of Sussex has also previously acknowledged the risk to his security in Britain after revealing he killed 25 Taliban fighters while during his two tours of Afghanistan with the British army.

The duke recently lost a High Court battle with the Home Office over whether he was entitled to police protection in the UK.

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Meghan and Harry at Project Healthy Minds' World Mental Health Day Festival last year. (Image: Getty)

The long-running legal battle began more than four years ago when Harry challenged a government panel's decision to limit his access to publicly funded security.

The prince argues he and his family still needed an armed security detail because of hostility directed toward him and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, on social media and relentless hounding by the news media.

After stepping down as a working royal in 2020, the Harry was informed he would not be receiving the “same degree” of protection.

The Sussexes didn't keep any UK-based staff when they relocated to California in 2020, but in response to the level of interest in the couple in Britain their advisers have sought a PR team across the pond to keep on top of their messaging.