Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's one 'greatest mistake' that could have been easily fixed

A royal expert has pinpointed what she claimed is one of Prince Harry's "greatest mistakes" in relation to Meghan Markle. Katie Nicholl made the claim while discussing a public display of affection by Harry and Meghan at a photo call nearly seven years ago.

Harry and Meghan, wearing a white belted coat by Canadian brand Line The Label, were photographed in the Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace after the announcement of their engagement on November 27, 2017.

The royal expert told YouTube podcast body language in images from that outing before the world's media appeared to show Harry being quite defensive of Meghan.

Harry and Meghan are pictured close together with the Duke wrapping an arm around his then fiancée and holding a hand out towards the cameras.

Ms Nicholl said: "It's like he's making that physical connection. He's presenting her to the world for the first time, because he'd kept her in secret.

"I still think one of his greatest mistakes was never introducing her to us, the press, and allowing that connection to be forged.

"Yes, there's a protectiveness and also a defensiveness about it. It's like, 'She's mine. I'm presenting you to her, but hands off'."

Ms Nicholl pointed to statements issued by Harry about protecting Meghan's privacy and his being "very protective" of her ever since.

Kensington Palace communications secretary Jason Knauf issued a statement defending Meghan in November 2016 in which he said the Duchess had been subjected to a wave of abuse, including a smear on a national newspaper front page and "outright" sexism and racism from social media trolls.

The same statement also confirmed Harry and Meghan's relationship, but has now apparently been removed from the Royal Family website.

Harry discusses that statement in his best-selling memoir, Spare, describing it as "strong, precise, angry, honest". He also lamented that the intervention failed to stop Meghan being harassed.

The Duke's relationship with the press has been strained for years, with ongoing legal battles between Harry and the UK's biggest tabloids over alleged phone hacking and allegations over the hiring of private investigators to use unlawful measures to dig up dirt on him.

Ms Nicholl went on to say of the Sussexes: "What I love about Harry and Meghan... [is] I love the chemistry between them. It looks like a genuine, real, passionate love affair.

"It's a romance. They're very much in love. They're very tactile."