Harry and Meghan aware they were on show on LA date: They want to control narrative

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were "aware they were on show" during a recent date night in LA and "want to control their narrative", a royal expert has exclusively told OK!.

Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, made their first public appearance together in months on Monday night as they attended a basketball game in Los Angeles.

As the pair watched Los Angeles Lakers beat the Memphis Grizzlies in game four of the NBA playoffs on 24 April they appeared happy and relaxed while "looking cosy".

Historian, writer and broadcaster Tessa Dunlop spoke exclusively to OK! and said during their date night, the couple “were very much aware they were on show".

"They're both players," she added. "They know about public displays of affection, they know that clickbait, they need to show the world that they're functioning as a couple."

“They are their own brand, they look, to me, very cosy. But I also think they were very aware we were looking at them looking cosy."

“That is what they want us to think is natural, that’s what they want us to buy into – that image."

The royal expert also compared the Sussexes' loved-up display to how Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip interacted in public after their engagement was announced in 1947.

Tessa said: "Never before were they seen arm in arm or touching each other. That was seen as a big deal, to have public displays of affection and the love story."

Since stepping away from their senior royal duties in 2020, Tessa pointed out the Sussexes are now a "public brand, and they do make money by being public".

She said: "So occasionally we’re going to see these very choreographed appearances and that was one of them.

“And this is about them controlling their narrative, on their terms, with their people at their events in a very American setting.

“Let's not forget Harry is a fish in new waters.”

Harry and Meghan's LA date night came after they revealed their plans for the King's Coronation.

It was confirmed earlier this month that Harry will attend his father's coronation solo, while Meghan will remain in California with their two children Archie, three, and Lilibet, one.

The statement from Buckingham Palace, issued on Wednesday 12 April, read: “Buckingham Palace is pleased to confirm that the Duke of Sussex will attend the Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey on 6th May.

“The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.”

It is thought Meghan is staying at home with the children as Archie's birthday falls on the same day as the King's Coronation. on Saturday 6 May.

Tessa Dunlop's book, Elizabeth and Philip: The Story of Young Love, Marriage and Monarchy, is out now in paperback.

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