Prince Harry, Meghan Markle 'Winning' Against Prince William in U.S. Tour

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle "are winning hands-down in the U.S.," despite Prince William and Kate Middleton's tour of Boston, according to the former editor of a U.K. tabloid that the couple have sued.

David Yelland, editor of The Sun from 1998 to 2003 and previously deputy editor of the New York Post, suggested in a Twitter post on Friday, December 2, that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had taken the limelight from the visiting royal couple.

William and Kate had a rocky start to their U.S. tour after a race scandal that saw the prince's godmother, Lady Susan Hussey, quit the palace after asking a black British charity boss where she was "really" from.

William and Kate were then booed at the Boston Celtics basketball game, before the Sussexes released the trailer for their upcoming Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan midway ahead of the second day of the three-day visit.

The teaser included the sound of breaking glass as it cut from a shot of Meghan crying to an image of Kate staring into the camera during the Commonwealth Day service in March 2019, two months after Meghan told Harry she was experiencing suicidal thoughts.

The following day, Yelland wrote on Twitter: "Harry & Meghan are winning hands-down in the U.S. this week, the U.K. sometimes looks very small and very insular and this is one of those weeks."

Hours later William and Kate welcomed the likes of David Beckham, Billie Eilish, Ellie Goulding, Annie Lennox and Chloe x Halle to the Earthshot Prize ceremony, though even that earned some criticism.

The Daily Mirror and Daily Mail websites were among those to run allegations of hypocrisy linked to the fact many of the guests had jetted in from abroad to take part.

One viewer wrote on Twitter: "David Beckham. Currently ambassador for the least sustainable and wasteful sporting event in history in Qatar. Giving out the Earthshot award for solving wasteful issues? You're having a laugh. #EarthShotPrize."

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Backlash Prior to Netflix Documentary Release

Yelland's comment came even as Harry and Meghan became locked in a dispute with his former newspaper.

An article in The Sun suggested Harry had told a friend prior to the release of the Oprah Winfrey interview: "This is going to be quite shocking. Those Brits need to learn a lesson."

Harry and Meghan's global press secretary said in a statement released to Newsweek: "This is a baseless hit piece masquerading as journalism. This story is riddled with inaccuracies, not least of which is a quote erroneously attributed to Prince Harry.

"To accuse a man who spent 10 years serving his country of wanting to teach that same country a lesson is not only an attempted distraction but an unfortunate and predictable tabloid strategy.

"To pit him against his country is shameful and manipulative, especially when Prince Harry has never spoken ill of the British public."

Harry accused the newspaper of hacking his phone at the High Court, in London, in a 2019 lawsuit that is yet to reach court.

There was also criticism of the Netflix teaser for Harry & Meghan after it featured an old image of a pack of press photographers without revealing it was taken on the red carpet five years before the couple met.

The picture appears immediately before Harry says: "I had to do everything I could to protect my family."

The photographers had actually gathered to welcome stars including Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson to the London premiere of Harry Potter movie Deathly Hallows: Part Two and no royals were at the event.

Meanwhile, U.S.-based royal expert Kinsey Schofield told U.K.-based network GB News she felt William and Kate were surviving an attempt by Harry and Meghan to "bring them down."

She said: "I know specifically with the entertainment media outlets here in the States, they really wanted to push some of these scandals.

"But you just saw William and Catherine show up every day—I saw Catherine today at Harvard.

"I mean, they had to pull the woman out of the building. She wanted to stop and talk to everyone, take photos.

"And you know, that's not running away from the problem and I think that that's really impressive, because there are people that are trying to bring them down right now, specifically, the Sussexes."

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Latest News

The documentary is expected to drop on Thursday, December 8, ahead of the royal family's first Christmas without Queen Elizabeth II.

Before then, however, Meghan and Harry will be on the red carpet themselves as they visit New York to collect the Ripple of Hope Award from Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights on Tuesday, December 6.

The star-studded gala will be hosted by Alec Baldwin and give the couple a platform to show their star credentials days before the world gets to hear their latest attempt to explain their reasons for quitting the royal family.

On the same day, they will find out whether Meghan's Archetypes podcast has won a People's Choice Award, closer to home in California.

Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.