Meghan Markle made an error that backfired, failing to put the rumors to rest.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle very much displayed a united front in a series of joint outings at the Invictus Games.

The couple spent five days together at the sporting event in th e German city of Dusseldorf and while in public, continued to be as tactile as expected with hand-holding, loving glances and supportive gestures. At the closing ceremony, Meghan looked on proudly as Harry gave an emotional address that saw him forced to hold back the tears. The joint appearances came weeks after cruel rumours began to swirl that all was not well between Harry and Meghan, especially after they had not been seen out in public together for several months – and appeared to be working on separate projects.

Friends dismissed the rumours as totally untrue with one telling Page Six : “It’s not true, it’s literally made up.” Similarly Omid Scobie, one of the authors behind the biography Finding Freedom, also rubbished the claim on social media. But it hasn’t stopped all speculation. And according to a PR and crisis management expert, it could be down to Meghan’s one “own goal” – not appearing with Harry at the Games from the start of the tournament.

Harry was in Germany for the duration of the eight-day event, while Meghan did not arrive until several days after the opening ceremony. And speaking to the Mirror, the CEO of PR agency Go Up, Ed Coram James, said the Sussexes are in the middle of a “PR storm”. He explained: “From a PR point of view it makes sense for them to go their professional ways for a period of time. Their professional brand, that as the husband-and-wife team ‘the Sussexes’ has become somewhat professionally toxic in the past year.

“Each of them getting a bit of distance from that brand could help reduce their association with it and enable them to forge more reputationally stable careers as individuals while giving the Sussex brand time to reset, to be revisited at a later date. But, taking that professional space from one another (which does not mean that they are also taking personal space from one another) was always bound to send the rumour mill into hyperdrive, and it has.

“If the idea is to put those rumours to bed, then the Duchess not attending the Invictus opening was another mistake in a long line of PR mistakes made by Meghan. In not attending, she fed red meat to the sharks. If you’re trying to show the world that you’re strong as a couple, you make public appearances when they matter.

“And, from an optics point of view, what matters more than arguably the biggest personal achievement of your husband, his internationally famous and acclaimed Invictus Games. It represents an own goal for Meghan on a number of fronts. Firstly, it has further fed the marital troubles rumour. Secondly, it is a missed PR opportunity. Even the Sussexes’ biggest online detractors acknowledge that Harry did something truly special with the Invictus Games. Meghan would be well advised to associate herself with them.”