Meghan and Harry's latest plan backfires as duchess 'still sees herself as royal'

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's latest attempt to "build bridges" has led to further backlash over the past week. Following her 44th birthday earlier this week, Meghan was accused of turning the celebrations for her special day into a PR stunt - whilst Harry has received further backlash following his earlier departure from Sentebale.

The royal, 40, has being accused of allowing a "damaging" dispute to play out publicly in the fall-out at the charity that he co-founded in 2006. Whilst the couple have been trying to repair their reputations, they have seemingly been unable to escape negative press.

Royal expert Duncan said: "Everything Meghan does seems to attract negativity, particularly in the UK.

"There seems to be two versions of her; one in America and one here, where she seems to be universally disliked."

Speaking to the Mirror about Meghan, he added: "She's a very emotional person and takes things personally, so it probably feels like she can't do anything right a lot of the time. She was heavily criticised for some of her recent videos, and when she goes quiet, she's criticised for that, too."

Meghan took to social media on August 5, the day after her birthday, to share a post on how she spent her special day. She uploaded a picture of herself blowing out candles on a cake in, what appeared to be, a restaurant.

The former working royal also experienced further backlash this week after she was accused of with a post on her brand As Ever's Instagram.

Duncan added: "She sees herself as a very positive, upbeat person, but the negativity happens every time because she's lost her credibility.

"She's a self-publicist, and that doesn't go down well with the British public. In her mind, she's a royal, but she isn't in terms of toeing the line.

"So yes, she's making a success of her business, selling lots of jams and bottles of wine, but it's coming at a cost because she's seen as cashing in on being a royal."