LIVE: Sordid Markle Arrest Damages William and George’s Country Life PR Push

Prince William has spent six months working on his guest edit of Country Life, and this was supposed to be his week. Today the 300-page special issue finally goes on sale, with the Prince of Wales as its cover star, sharing his thoughts on the countryside, the people who look after it, and even his fondness for a pint of cider with ice down the pub. William to give insight into public and private life as he guest edits magazine Instead, the royal news agenda belongs to an 82-year-old man in Florida. Last Friday the FBI took Thomas Markle, Meghan’s estranged father, into custody, and he now faces a federal count of possessing child sexual abuse material. He has called the accusations false, and it is important to say that an arrest is not a conviction. But the story has swallowed everything else in the royal world whole. meghan markles father reportedly arrested on child sexual abuse material charges In this video, I look at how the Markle arrest has overshadowed William’s Country Life debut, and why a magazine issue that Kensington Palace would have expected to dominate the headlines for days has been pushed down the running order by a scandal that has nothing to do with him. William is following his father, Queen Camilla and Princess Anne into the guest editor’s chair. (Camilla’s issue is still the magazine’s best seller of all time.) For the heir to the throne, this was a chance to set out who he is and what he cares about: rural Britain, the environment, and the people working the land. I also look at what the arrest means for Meghan. She addressed the allegations against her father when they first emerged in October, though her representative would not comment on the arrest itself. And I ask the bigger question: more than six years after Harry and Meghan left royal life, why does the Sussex story still have the power to blow the Prince of Wales off the front pages? oxygen Let me know what you think in the comments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices