Why Meghan and Harry have a funny way of keeping out of the limelight, says Catherine Scott

The interview she did to promote the launch of Elephants coincided with news that she and husband Prince Harry were refusing to speak to four tabloid UK newspapers – or may be that was intentional – and during their privacy court case against Associated Newspapers, publishers of the Mail on Sunday.

For a couple wanting to take a back seat and step away from the limelight it does seem rather curious.

Do they think by failing to officially brief the tabloids they will leave them alone ? One would presume the opposite will in fact be the case. It also likely that as a result of withdrawing co-operation with the tabloids coverage of the charitable works the couple are still patrons of may miss out on much-needed publicity, especially in the aftermath of the current coronavirus pandemic which is seriously affecting charities ability to raise vital funds.

And the move has also been criticised, with Ian Murray, executive director of the Society of Editors, claiming that Meghan and Harry are trying to “undermine” the press and their move amounted to “censorship.” The timing of the announcement has also been said to have angered The Queen, coming at a time when the country, and indeed the world, is struggling to cope with one of the biggest health and economic crises in its modern history.

To many it will smack of wanting to have their cake and eat it and also a failure to be in touch with what is going on around them – something the modern-day Royal Family has strived to avoid. One also has to wonder about the timing of an interview about Meghan’s first commercial job since leaving that Royal Family. The film is her passion project and marks her return to showbiz after shunning royal life. It streamed on April 3 on Disney+, the company’s newly launched streaming service.

It is unclear how many views the film has had so far, or why Disney released the year-old interview with Meghan on Monday.

The never-before-seen interview that was taped last summer and aired on Good Morning America, a day after she and Prince Harry said they would no longer talk to four British newspapers.

In the interview, Meghan said she was ‘grateful’ to have been involved in the documentary which she hopes will teach people how similar humans are to elephants and how ‘connected’ we are. The proceeds will be donated to an elephant preservation charity.

It all seems a strange way to go about keeping out of the limelight.