From Little Red Riding Hood en route to her grandmother’s cottage to the unconventional method of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, the motif of asking children to remain quiet is woven throughout history. In most cases, this directive is intended for their protection, but being the epitome of modern royalty that they are, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have added a distinctive twist to this age-old theme. As the Duke and Duchess of Sussex once again find a seat in the good graces of millions, it is quite difficult to ignore the efforts of their diligent PR team.

Unfortunately for them, a thorough study of their efforts has exposed a controversial silence clause that the Californian royals inflicted on young kids after exiting the royal family.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s premium silence clause for children

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, through their interview with Oprah Winfrey, multi-million dollar Netflix docuseries, and a memoir, have squeezed the last drop out of the right to free speech. However, the couple’s view seems to change when they are not in the solo spotlight. And their silence clause inflicted on kids as young as five is proof of it.

In 2021, after altering royal history with their exit as senior royals, the couple visited an underprivileged school in New York. However, to ensure that everything went smoothly, the couple’s PR team sent an email to the Department of Education about the “appearance release.” As per The Sun, the couple banned pupils from making any negative remarks about their visit.

The visit has since then been featured in the Harry & Meghan docuseries, but it was not the first time the Sussexes had been caught hushing kids

When the Duchess kept Lena Tindall in check

It seems Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s PR team drew inspiration from them as they added a silence clause for kids. Not long before their visit to the public school in New York, the Duchess and Duke attended the Trooping the Color event in 2022. And amidst all the chaos, a series of photos of the Duchess hushing Queen Elizabeth’s great-granddaughters stole the spotlight.

Unlike Kate Middleton and her kids, who enjoyed a more front-seat view of the event, Markle joined the non-working members of the royal family. Therefore, the former actresses’ company consisted of Savannah Phillips, Mia Tindall, and Lena Tindall. Contrary to the silence clause that has come to bite the Sussexes, the photos of Markle hushing Lena Tindall were anything but condescending. Perhaps Meghan Markle and Prince Harry must have felt compelled to include the ‘silence clause,’ as a shield against the constant storm of media scrutiny.

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