Royal Family LIVE: Fury as Meghan accused of ‘staging’ Xmas photos after Ellen backlash

MEGHAN Markle fans have hit back after some social media users accused the Duchess of Sussex of staging new paparazzi pictures. Photos emerged of Meghan during a Christmas shopping trip in Montecito on Wednesday prompting some Twitter users to claim the Duchess staged the snaps.

One user with the handle @lord_belacquan said: “Meghan was so triggered by an article saying she was staying at home over the Ellen backlash, she staged a paparazzi shoot of her shopping and trying to look busy with two phones that were switched off.”

 

Another, @hrrysgreysuit, claimed: “She called the Paps. Santa Barbara is a small community paparazzi aren’t just hanging around waiting for her to come out.” However, other users were quick to defend the Duchess against the accusations, with one with the handle @SneezeCocoa writing: “Meghan looks absolutely gorgeous! And being papped from time to time is expected, it’s the illegal and intrusive actions of the media and paparazzi I have an issue with.”

It comes after royal commentator Neil Sean claimed Meghan was “so upset” by the backlash following her appearance on The Ellen Show that she has “taken to indoors”

‘Nobody really knows’ Harry and Meghan facing questions over Spotify podcast plans

PRINCE HARRY and Meghan Markle are facing questions over the future of their deal to produce podcasts for Spotify as “nobody really knows” what is happening, a royal expert has claimed. Neil Sean told his YouTube channel that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Spotify deal could be looking “for a brand new home” as he claimed efforts could be made to reach a “wider audience”.

 

The speculation comes as MailOnline reported this week how the pair have only produced “35 minutes of content” for their Archewell Audio channel since its launch. In a joint statement after signing the deal with Spotify last year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said: “What we love about podcasting is that it reminds all of us to take a moment and to really listen, to connect to one another without distraction.

“With the challenges of 2020, there has never been a more important time to do so, because when we hear each other, and hear each other’s stories, we are reminded of how interconnected we all are.” Despite the comments from the Sussexes, Mr Sean suggested there could be options available to the pair to push their content elsewhere following a busy year for the pair, including welcoming their second child, Lilibet.

He suggested that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “will still have the deal with Spotify” but claimed sub-licensing their podcast could mean more people could be reached and more coverage of their work achieved. But the royal expert claimed that the future destination of the podcast “depends” on what genre Harry and Meghan wish the podcast to be. He questioned: “Will it be preachy? Will it be entertaining? Or will it just simply be social messaging?”

 

Mr Sean went on to suggest how “nobody really knows what Meghan and Harry plan to do with Spotify” but praised the pair for a “very clever manoeuvre” with the podcast.It comes as no update on the Spotify podcast deal has been given, while Archewell have not responded to comment after questions were levelled at the company by MailOnline.

It follows news that a BBC podcast titled ‘Harry, Meghan and the Media’ has been delayed after the Beeb received nearly 1,000 complaints about two-part documentary ‘The Princes and The Press’, which the Duke and Duchess’s podcast was due to accompany as a follow-up. Mr Sean claimed the documentaries were “dire” before claiming “the BBC are not much favoured right now by the British monarchy”.

This has been compounded by the fallout of the Martin Bashir scandal which saw the BBC found guilty for allowing Mr Bashir to fake documents to access Diana, the Princess of Wales for his world famous interview. Alongside the Spotify deal, the Duchess of Sussex has also embarked on other projects, including writing a picture book titled ‘The Bench’, published earlier this year, about the bond between a father and a son.

 

The Duchess, alongside husband Prince Harry, has also signed what is believed to be a multi-million dollar contract with streaming giant Netflix. Meghan is also working on an animated series for Netflix titled ‘Pearl’. The series is described as “a family series that centers on the adventures of a 12-year-old girl who is inspired by a variety of influential women from history”.