US ambassador to the UK Jane D. Hartley sidestepped a question focused on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as she appeared on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme. Interviewed by the broadcaster’s former political editor, the diplomat discussed her first eight months in her Britan-based role, during which she was able to present her letter of credentials to Queen Elizabeth II, meet the new monarch and see three different Prime Ministers leading the UK. After asking her guest about the promised US-UK trade deal and the issues surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol, Ms Kuenssberg wanted to hear from Ms Hartley what Americans think of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
She asked: “You’ve been here at an extraordinary time as you said, you were sworn in when the Queen was still alive and you’ve met the new King now.
“There has also been huge attention and discussion of Harry and Meghan’s move to the US. Is there a lot of sympathy for Harry and Meghan in America, do you think?
The ambassador deflected the question, saying she doesn’t like to enter “family dynamics”.
She candidly replied: “I never like to go into family dynamics because I’m from a very big family myself. And you know we never talk publicly about whatever our own tensions – and by the way, I am very close to my family.”
As Ms Kuenssberg chimed in and joked saying “Just for the record!”, the ambassador continued: “Just for the record, my son is here, I am seeing him for dinner with my daughter-in-law tonight, my daughter is in New York, I miss her terribly, she comes over, and my husband is here about half of the time.”
Ms Kuenssberg tried to probe again Ms Hartley, asking: “But this isn’t just a private family matter, this has been a huge story and it does certainly seem on the other side of the Atlantic that there has been a very genuine swell of support for Harry and Meghan.
“Do you think that the reputation of the Royal Family has been damaged or tarnished somehow by all of this?”
The ambassador continued to avoid providing an answer about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
On the other hand, she chose to praise the work King Charles carried out as Prince of Wales for decades.
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She said: “I will only give you my personal opinion, and remember I have not been living in the United States, I’ve been living here, but as you said I met the King and I was up in Scotland at Dumfries House a couple of weeks ago.
“And I think one of the things that would be important for the UK public – and frankly for the American public – to know is how much good the Prince then has done in terms of Prince’s Trust and other things.
“That message is not out there. I am particularly interested in it because one of the things I want to work on at the Embassy is what we do with young people and how we make sure they have the right skills for the next generations of whatever is coming in terms of technology and I think that working with employers which the Prince’s Trust has been doing, and apprenticeship and training to make sure the next generation has skills and also hope, and I want to commend them from what they did, and I think more people should know about it.”
Prince Harry and Meghan relocated to the US in March 2020, just days before they officially stepped down as full-time working members of the Firm.
They have since established their new organisation, Archewell, which includes two production powerhouses and a non-profit.
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Following their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in early 2021, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex spoke about their romance, struggles with media attention and relationship with the royals in a six-part Netflix documentary released in December.
Harry also delved further into these topics in his 416-page long memoir, Spare.
While the Sussexes used to enjoy a high level of popularity across the pond – and gained sympathy among many following the claims and revelations made to Ms Winfrey – a recent poll suggested the tide may have turned.
A comparison with a similar poll carried out in December shows Harry’s popularity dropped 45 points.
Similarly, Meghan’s popularity dropped by 36 points within just weeks.
*This story has not been edited by The Infallible staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.