Meghan Markle ‘Forced Herself’ to Do a ‘Photo Op’ With Prince Harry to Push ‘Happy Couple Narrative’

Trouble, what trouble? More than a month after moving back to the U.K., Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were finally photographed together — hand-in-hand, no less — at the Falkland Arms pub in the Cotswolds on Friday, October 2.

“This very public outing together was clearly aimed at silencing the critics by pushing the happy couple narrative, but it hasn’t really done much,” a source tells Examiner. “Everyone is still whispering about the cracks in their marriage.”

All the murmurs “bother” the Duchess of Sussex, 45, the source adds.

So much so that, “even though the last thing she wants to be doing is going out to be gawked at with him, she’s forced herself out for this photo op,” says the source.

As Examiner previously reported, Meghan has been intentionally staying out of the spotlight since she and Harry, 42, moved back to England in August with their two young children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5.

“There’s a huge amount of anxiety for her anytime she steps out of the house in the U.K. because of her past experiences there,” admits the source. “But she’s determined to prove they are still as united as ever.”

Since their return to the U.K, the Duke of Sussex has made several solo public appearances, and is “clearly enjoying getting out and about,” the source notes.

“He’s not pressuring Meghan to join him, but everyone knows that’s what he wants,” says the source. “If she’s always staying home, her very valid fear is that they will drift so far apart they can’t find their way back to each other. That’s why she’s forcing herself out.”