On Thursday July 4th the Duchess of Sussex made a surprise appearance at the Wimbledon tennis Championships with two of her best friends to cheer on her good pal Serena Williams at Court 1, wearing an adorable ‘A’ necklace in honour of Archie, which made headlines around the world.
And while many royal fans were delighted to see Meghan, whose appearances have been rare since she’s been on maternity leave, not everyone was impressed with how things went down on the day, with a handful of spectators nearby revealing they were told by the Duchess’ security team not to take photographs of the new mum – despite some of them not even realising she was there to begin with.
At one point a man was seen being tapped on the shoulder by the security team when he was taking what looked to be a photo of the Duchess, however images of the interaction show he had been clearly taking a selfie with the iconic Court 1 behind him.
According to The Daily Mail, her security team told spectators that Meghan was there “in a private capacity”, despite attending the match with 12,000 people at Court 1, with the addition of millions of tennis fans watching on TV.
The incident has sparked a heated debate about whether the Duchess’ surprise appearance can be considered ‘private’.
Known for divisive opinions and his dislike for the Duchess of Sussex, Good Morning Britain‘s Piers Morgan has weighed in on the debate in a heated rant, telling the show’s viewers that a ‘private capacity’ at the Wimbledon was “so ridiculous”.
“It’s rankly hypocritical and they’re not private people, they’re the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.”
When his co-host Susanna Reid said she was sympathetic over the couple’s requests for privacy, Pier interjected sharply: “At the royal box at Wimbledon? With the world’s cameras beamed on their heads?
“It’s not a private place! If you want to be private, don’t go to the royal box at Wimbledon.”
Adding: “If you want to be private, go back to America and live privately.”
The explosive rant comes as 64-year-old Sally Jones revealed in a column for The Telegraph that she had been at the same match “happily snapping” photos of Serena Williams when she was asked to stop taking photos of Meghan.
“Watching Serena Williams in action at Court 1 at Wimbledon, I was happily snapping shots of the superstar American powering down huge serves when I felt a tap on my shoulder,” she wrote.
“‘Would you not take photographs of the Duchess,’ a voice ordered politely. ‘She’s here in a private capacity’.
“No wonder there is a growing tide of resentment against the Sussexes for their secretive, high maintenance attitude and diva-ish demands for privacy when it suits them,” Sally continued.
“Despite the eye-wateringly expensive, taxpayer-funded refit of Frogmore Cottage.”
Later speaking to The Daily Mail, Sally labelled the requests as “control-freakery” and “childish”.
This is just the latest controversy to surround the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, with many fans and royal commentators angered by the couple’s decision to not just keep their son Archie’s christening private, but that they also would not be disclosing the names of the people chosen to be their son’s godparents.
According to The Sun, critics are unimpressed with the Sussexes’ decisions regarding Archie’s baptism, pointing to the recent revelation that the couple spent £2.4 million (NZD $4.6 million) of British taxpayers’ money to renovate their new Frogmore Cottage home.
And while many people have been quick to blame Meghan for pushing privacy surrounding the christening, a royal expert has claimed it’s actually Harry who had wanted to keep Archie’s christening small and private.
Speaking to The Daily Mail, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine Ingrid Seward said: “I think this is quite Harry-led and it is putting Meghan in a very difficult position.
“She’s the one getting all the flak as the newcomer to the Royal Family.”
The revelation isn’t that surprising when you consider Harry’s love-hate relationship with the press.
He’s often touched on the difficulty growing up in the media and the public eye and also the role paparazzi played in the tragic death of his mother Princess Diana – it would make sense that he would want to protect his son from what he experienced growing up.
It’s clear that the couple want to give Archie as normal as a life as possible, choosing to move to the privacy of Windsor Castle, and reportedly wanting to raise him as a private citizen until he is old enough to make his own decisions.
As seventh-in-line to the throne his life may be more ‘normal’ than his Cambridge cousins, but as a member of the royal family his life will always be far from ordinary.