Royal Author Says Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Should 'Back …

TL;DR: 

• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are not "doing themselves any favors by constantly battling with the British media," according to author Sally Bedell Smith.
• The couple previously played the same "game" with the press Prince Harry has discussed in interviews. 
• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are "constantly violating their own privacy." 

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry | Chris Jackson - Pool/Getty Images

Amid Prince Harry's unexpected appearance at a tabloid lawsuit hearing, a royal author says he and Meghan Markle should "back off" the British press. Why? Because the Duke and Duchess of Sussex aren't "doing themselves any favors." 

Harry and Meghan 'have to have a good relationship' with the British media, author says

Royal author Sally Bedell Smith explained why it's crucial for Harry and Meghan to be on "good" terms with members of the British media in the March 27 episode of The Royal Report podcast.

"They have to deal with the reporters," the George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Shaped the Monarchy author said of the couple. "And they have to have a good relationship with them."  "I've been on trips and have watched how it works and there's a lot of give and take," Bedell Smith continued. "And many of the reporters that Harry has derided are very good reporters. They check their sources.

They don't rush into print." "So, I mean I think they should just at some point back off," she added. "Obviously, these cases will be resolved in one way or another, but I don't think Harry and Meghan are doing themselves any favors by constantly battling with the British media."

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were previously 'playing the game' and 'very entwined with their own outlets'

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry | Facundo Arrizabalaga - Pool/Getty Images

The author also discussed how the couple was, at one time, "playing the game" with the British press. Bedell Smith cited Meghan's legal victory over Associated Newspapers Limited for publishing extracts of a letter she wrote to her father, Thomas Markle.

"The decision was probably correct," she said. "But at the same time, during that period, both Harry and Meghan were very entwined with their own outlets in the media."  "They were playing the game that Harry described both in the Netflix documentary and his book, the author continued. "And I'm not sure that they weren't doing much of the same thing that the royal family may or may not have been doing."

Prince William and Kate Middleton maintain a 'zone of privacy' while Harry and Meghan are 'constantly violating their own'

Bedell Smith also discussed Harry and Meghan repeatedly "violating their own privacy."  In her opinion, Harry's brother, Prince William, and his sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, maintain a "zone of privacy."  "I think William and Catherine have really done a remarkably good job in preserving a zone of privacy," the author said. "It was challenged at the beginning by the paparazzi and they drew a very, very strong line about what they would tolerate and what they would challenge."

"But, you know, I can't help thinking that Harry and Meghan are so obsessed with privacy," she continued. "And they're constantly violating their own privacy with interviews and obviously Harry's book." After his best-selling memoir, Spare, debuted in January 2023, Harry came under fire for getting too personal. Shortly before the book's release he and Meghan opened up about royal life in the December 2022 Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan. 

Shortly after the couple responded to the privacy criticism. A spokesperson said privacy wasn't why they stepped back as senior royals in 2020. Instead, the spokesperson described it as part of a "distorted narrative to trap" Harry and Meghan "into silence."

Since then a February 2023 South Park episode took aim at the couple with an episode titled, "Worldwide Privacy Tour."  As for William responding to Harry's claims, it seems unlikely according to Bedell Smith.  "I would be stunned if William were to write any kind of a book that would, for example, try to counter what Harry has written and said," she said. "Because I think there's no way to win that it just escalates.

But they're just, William and Kate, I think are handling it very well."