It's the Sussex show! MEGHAN & HARRY'S BID FOR POWER

Sources say the couples are going all out to win the hearts-and votes -of the American people

- Judy Kean

It bore all the hallmarks of a typical royal tour – the police escorts, the fleet of SUVs with blacked-out windows, meetings with dignitaries, hugging small children. But the visit of Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex to New York last week was not an official visit on behalf of the Queen, as they are no longer senior royals.

While fans of the couple in the US were delighted to see them on their first major outing together since moving across the Atlantic last year, back in the UK they’ve copped flak for the high-profile jaunt. Royal author Anna Pasternak says while the visit was conducted with the swagger of a royal tour, there was no influential institution behind it, so it was just a PR exercise.

“Who are the Sussexes representing apart from themselves? In taking the city by storm, was Meghan crowning herself the Queen of the Sussexes Alternative Royal Court?”

Anna, author of American Duchess: The Real Wallis Simpson, pointed out the difference between the New York trip – to attend the 24-hour Global Citizen Live event in Central Park – and their first overseas tour as a couple, when they came to New Zealand in 2018.

Then the dress code was smart casual with a hint of glamour, which was a marked contrast to the no-nonsense businesswear Meghan, 40, chose this time around.