Prince Harry, Meghan Markle branded ‘desperate’ for releasing Lilibet’s photo

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attracted fresh criticism on Tuesday after releasing an official portrait of their daughter, Lilibet Diana, on her first birthday, reported The Daily Star.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex released a photo of Lilibet, only the second publicly released photo of hers, early on Tuesday, with royal commentator Omid Scobie taking to Twitter to share details about her birthday party in the UK over the Queen’s Jubilee weekend.

“For Lilibet’s first birthday, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan invited close friends and family for an 'intimate backyard picnic' at Frogmore Cottage, Windsor on Saturday,” Scobie said.

However, Sussex critic Daniela Elser was quick to level criticism against the couple for releasing their daughter’s photo, calling it a desperate move.

Elser said: “Lili’s birthday aside, the four-day stint back in the UK was nothing short of a PR disaster for the couple who were sidelined by the royal family in the most humiliating – and blatant – way possible.”

“In short, it’s very hard to see how the Sussexes’ Great British Return could be viewed as anything other than disastrous,” she continued.

Elser went on to add: “No PR wins, family rapprochement or unmissable Netflix footage in the can and all at the expense of their egos and, potentially, their bank balance too.”

“Which brings us to the release of Tuesday’s Lili images which, given the preceding days’ events, start to look like a fairly transparent attempt at righting the publicity ship and changing the prevailing Sussex narrative from embarrassing flop to, ‘Ooh! BABY!’”

She concluded her rant with a pressing question: “Would we be seeing these images if Harry and Meghan’s UK jaunt had been an unmitigated success, all glowing coverage and flattering opinion pieces?”