Royal couple are listening to advice from ‘formidable’ team leading the fightback against criticism

As the rest of Britain basked in the final burst of August sunshine, the mood at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor was gloomy.

Having enjoyed no fewer than three lavish breaks abroad by private jet after preaching to the world about climate change, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex faced accusations of extravagance and hypocrisy.

To top it all, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were enjoying contrastingly glowing media coverage.

Duke and Duchess of Sussex visit District Six Museum and Homecoming Centre in Cape Town, South Africa

For Harry and Meghan, a year-long storm of negative headlines was reaching a crescendo.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal that it was shortly before this low point that aides warned Harry against taking a private flight to Sicily to attend a Google climate change conference. The Prince ignored the guidance and got on the plane. ‘It came back to bite him – badly,’ a source said.

Hunkered down at Frogmore, and only too aware of the negativity surrounding them, the beleaguered couple knew that their upcoming tour to Africa could make or break their reputation.

Now, a week into the tour, there are signs that they have begun to turn things around. It has helped, sources say, that they are at last ‘really listening’ to the people around them. They include a ‘formidable’ new personal assistant for Meghan and a press officer poached from the Cambridges.

Every aspect of the Africa tour has been meticulously planned and has brought notable successes, from baby Archie delightedly reaching towards Archbishop Desmond Tutu as ‘Arch met Arch’, to a ground-breaking engagement in a township known as South Africa’s murder capital.

The public reaction has been reminiscent of the period around Harry and Meghan’s wedding, when their romance and nonconformity was celebrated. At the time, admitted one aide ruefully, it was all so positive that many assumed the couple were invincible.

And then it suddenly all changed. In public, the couple set out to become ‘woke’ campaigners, with Harry preaching that he would have only two children to help the environment and Meghan scribbling ‘You are loved’ on bananas for sex workers.

Communications secretary Sara Latham is an American-born former adviser to Hillary Clinton having also worked for Bill Clinton 

Australian-born private secretary Samantha Cohen (left). Deputy private secretary Heather Wong worked for the US Department of Homeland Security in the Obama administration (right)

There were whispers that Meghan was ‘difficult’ to work for and endless stories about staff resignations and a feud with the Cambridges. Then came the constant demands for privacy, confusion over Archie’s birth and the petulant refusal to make public the names of his godparents.

Most significantly, there has been their wilful extravagance, including Meghan’s £300,000 celebrity-filled baby shower in New York and the £2.5 million refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.

It also emerged that Meghan was using an agent, manager and LA-based public relations firm to bolster her image and using her public role to publicise businesses belonging to her friends.

At the awkward launch of his sustainable travel initiative, Harry claimed that he was obliged to use private jets to ‘protect his family’ – even though he had flown to the Google summit in Sicily alone. His ‘tone deaf’ words came after his brother was seen dutifully dragging his own suitcases off a budget flight weeks earlier.

Before Team Sussex headed for Africa, a royal insider said: ‘It’s pretty obvious to everyone that there can be no ifs, no buts, it has to go well for them. All Royal tours are traditionally fantastic opportunities to generate positive publicity, but this one really matters.’

When Meghan suggested she could take on more engagements in South Africa while Harry travelled to other countries, she was advised that they should be kept private to avoid overshadowing him. Uncharacteristically, she accepted the advice without complaint.

 Projects manager Clara Madden is New Zealand-born and handed Meghan her bouquet at the royal wedding last year (left). Digital officer David Watkins is a 26-year-old former Burberry employee (right)

Communications officer James Holt headed communications for the Liberal Democrats describes himself as an ‘occasional runner’ 

Fiona Mcilwham is the incoming private secretary was one of the youngest ever British ambassadors when appointed to Albania 

And the new team of aides have orchestrated some ‘magic’ moments: an adorable photo opportunity with a young baby, dancing, hugs and genuine poignancy as Harry walked in his mother’s footsteps in a minefield in Angola.

After meeting Angolan president Joao Lourenco yesterday, Harry today begins the next stage of his tour in Malawi, where he will visit a school before reuniting with his wife and son in Johannesburg. Yesterday, Meghan was seen carrying Archie on to a scheduled BA flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg.

It also emerged that she last week quietly hosted a group of female community leaders including Sophia Williams-De Bruyn, who in 1956 led 20,000 women on a march to protest against apartheid laws.

While they have made good use of traditional photocalls, the Sussexes have still taken the chance to unleash some of their famous ‘star power’ – with Meghan delighting a meeting of teenage South African girls by telling them: ‘I am here as a woman of colour and as your sister.’

According to Dickie Arbiter, who worked as a press secretary for the Queen and Prince Charles for more than a decade, the secret to creating a successful tour is utilising the particular strengths of the travelling Royals. He said: ‘When I was planning tours for the Prince of Wales, his interests would be vastly different, not just the environment and development, but selling UK PLC – a whole different ball game.

Markus Anderson (centre) and Izzy May (right), an outside PR, who may be one of the contenders for the role of godparent to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s baby

‘Here, you’ve got Harry and Meghan, a young couple in their 30s, with interests in the social field. They are very informal, which is no bad thing. When you’re dealing with social issues, as they are, it is better to be informal than be aloof. They are just the right people to do that kind of thing.

‘If you are dealing with youngsters who have mental health problems, you don’t want someone in a suit and tie standing over them.’

Crucial to the popularity drive is the newly formed ‘power’ team, and the couple’s new-found willingness to listen to them.

Prince Harry, pictured arriving at Luanda airport before his departure from Angola on Saturday, is set to travel to Malawi, the next stop on his 10-day tour of Africa and the final destination before rejoining his wife and son in South Africa

Archie was last seen on Wednesday during tea with Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Cape Town. During the meeting Meghan said her son would have to get used the cameras in his life

The team, combining Palace old hands and new faces, has been carefully assembled.

Samantha Cohen, a former aide to the Queen, has acted as private secretary to Harry and Meghan since May last year. A source said: ‘Samantha has known Harry for many years and recognises they needed help. She is leaving after the tour but has been in the position to offer a bit of constructive criticism and has been listened to.’

Also on the trip has been Fiona Mcilwham – who this newspaper exclusively revealed was to be their new private secretary.

During his time in Angola on Friday, Prince Harry visited the same minefield where his mother walked through in January, 1997. The Princess of Wales, right, had visited Huambo to bring global attention to the crisis of landmines

Meghan (pictured) tied an orange ribbon around the painted veranda of Clareinch Post Office, where University of Cape Town student Uyinene Mrwetyana was killed on Saturday, August 24. The Duchess shared this image on Instagram on Friday

Second-in-command is Sara Latham, who started as Communications Secretary for the couple earlier this year. The former White House aide is admired by Harry and Meghan and fiercely protective of them in her dealings with the media. The Sussexes have also permanently recruited James Holt, who previously led communications for the Royal Foundation, the charity headed by the Cambridges.

Holt has worked at Kensington Palace for several years – as well as for the Liberal Democrats – and is passionate about many of the causes championed by Harry and Meghan.

Australian-born Marnie Gaffney – an experienced and highly efficient Palace aide – has also been assisting the Sussex PR team.

Harry’s assistant private secretary, Heather Wong, is said to have done ‘invaluable’ work behind the scenes, with one friend describing her as ‘extremely intelligent, bright as a button and very trustworthy’.

Another recent appointment is a new personal assistant to Meghan, known only as ‘Maria’.

With a background in fashion, she is thought to have helped the Duchess with her sensible and well-researched style choices for the Africa tour, including a black and white wrap dress by ethical Malawi-based brand Mayamiko, who donate £1 for each garment sold directly to the Mayamiko Trust, which helps fund sewing and tailoring training for local women.

After starting the royal tour together in Cape Town, Prince Harry left his wife and son to visit Botswana, Angola and Malawi. He will then rejoin his family in Johannesburg for the final few days of the trip before they all fly back to London

Yet, despite all their hard work, the Africa tour has not totally restored the Sussexes’ reputation.

The global gaze will not be deflected and it remains to be seen if aides in Buckingham Palace will be able to work effectively with their brasher American PR cousins in continuing to burnish the couple’s image.

‘At the end of the day, Meghan is used to a celebrity life and is not completely willing to give this up,’ said an insider. ‘That will always be a sticking point.’

Above all, sources say the couple need to learn that their public image is not indestructible.

One said: ‘What happens next? It takes more than one successful tour to turn around a year of bad headlines.

‘Not much thought or planning has gone into the next few months, so they will have to work very hard to ensure they continue to ride this new wave of popularity.