NADINE DORRIES: Meghan has began a media warfare – this is how Kate can win it

Love her or loathe her, Meghan knows how to snatch the spotlight.

When news broke that the Sussexes were back on British soil, many of us assumed they would lay low for a while, such is their obsession with privacy and security. Not so. The past week has been marked by a renewed media blitz from the Duchess and all eyes are on her again.

Which is exactly how she wants it to be.

Take Sunday afternoon, when a video emerged showing Princess Catherine with daughter Charlotte travelling on the London Underground‘s Elizabeth Line to go to a private appointment.

Of course, there was a security detail present, but Kate was apparently happy to take public transport and give Charlotte a taste of normal life. According to witnesses she chatted with the other travellers, checked her mobile phone and laughed and joked with her daughter.

Within minutes of the video, surreptitiously filmed by a fellow passenger, appearing on a newspaper website, Meghan posted to her Instagram page a video of her own children on a stroll in the countryside. Both wearing backpacks, Archie, seven, pushed a scooter and Lilibet, five, followed, while the family dog trailed behind.

Was the timing a coincidence? In my opinion, it wasn’t. Meghan knows exactly how to divert attention her way.

On Thursday, Meghan and Harry will be undertaking their first ‘royal-style’ engagement since their return in Nottingham – the city where they made their first appearance after announcing their engagement in 2017.

There will be a press announcement and briefings, making it clear they see themselves as public figures and not ‘private citizens’ as the King decreed in a statement recently. Indeed, one could interpret this as a very pointed snub of His Majesty.

I believe that Meghan’s intentions to establish her own unofficial branch of the Royal Family have become crystal clear in the past few days, starting with her appearance outside London’s Claridge’s Hotel with Nobel Prize-winner and human rights activist Malala Yousafzai last Wednesday. 

The pair had enjoyed afternoon tea together and their exit from the hotel was scarcely discreet – to the joy of the paparazzi who happened to be on hand.

Meghan who, incidentally, looked completely swamped in her £26,000-plus outfit, seized the moment – and our attention.

The purpose of the meeting emerged at the weekend when Meghan used her Instagram page to announce a partnership with Malala to mark the International Day of the Girl on October 11. She revealed that all proceeds from that day’s sale of jams and teas from her lifestyle brand As Ever would go to the Malala Fund, ‘to ensure that every girl has access to free, safe, quality education’.

Shortly after, another post revealed that she had partnered with the LA-based motherhood charity Moms Offering More, on a £75 special-edition sweatshirt with ‘It’s the little things’ embroidered on the sleeve. The artful, relaxed shot of her wearing it – which made several front pages yesterday, including the Daily Mail’s – ensured it sold out in minutes.

The Royal Family had better watch out, because Meghan is back and means business – and is intent on becoming queen of the news cycle.

How should Kate respond? I admire our future queen very much and I suspect her instinctive reaction will be to ignore Meghan’s ‘look-at-me antics’ and continue with her duties, charitable endeavours and family life.

But this is media war and I want her to win. She and her team must ensure that her public persona is as captivating and as compelling as the causes she represents.

She has been through the mother of all health battles, and no one will know the meaning of the words ‘it’s the little things’ better than Kate.

However, her current public image needs a ‘glow up’. Yes, she always looks impeccably dressed and stylish, but dare I say she’s lost a bit of her va va voom since she made it clear that a focus on her work rather than what she’s wearing is what she wants.

But, Kate, we can be interested in both!

Meghan has an advantage because she’s not constrained by royal convention and can wear whatever she likes – be as informal or glam as she chooses – and she can handpick the events she attends. She can also post winsome photographs of herself on social media to her heart’s content.

We are treated to glimpses of glamour with Kate – when she wears a stunning Jenny Packham gown on a red carpet, for instance – but not often enough.

In contrast with Meghan’s brand, Kate’s image is in danger of becoming stale. Perhaps she needs a fresh PR strategy and a new stylist?

Kate can take comfort from the fact that Meghan will always be B-list – and will never be queen of anything. And where Meghan can appear shallow and flighty, Kate has substance and commitment to duty.

Ultimately I know that the British public recognise what is important: not carefully curated social media feeds and staged paparazzi shots, but class and steadfastness. We will always have Kate’s back – but just a little bit of the old sparkle wouldn’t go amiss.

As I predicted, Richard E. Grant was the first Traitor to be voted off on Celebrity Traitors. And since the enigmatic actor – for me he was the real star of the show – left, there has been a shift in the vibe at Ardross Castle.

The comedian, Traitor James Acaster, became so stressed producers had to pause filming. There are also claims that contestants have been at each other’s throats as tension and paranoia kicked in. Something is very off and this series is unlikely to match the sparkle and intrigue of the first Celebrity Traitors.

It’s not Claudia’s fault. She doesn’t miss a beat. I think the below average comedians – all today’s comedians are below average when you grew up with the likes of Tommy Cooper, Les Dawson and Bob Monkhouse – are too blame for the mean-natured competitiveness now taking hold.

We can only hope things improve but I’m not holding my breath…

Nigel Farage has pledged to close our borders to asylum seekers for five years if there is a Reform government after the next election. As he said yesterday, it’s the only way to bring illegal migrant numbers down. The measure would include voiding pending applications and marking new and current application for deportation. It’s the only way to save our country – and the NHS. 

Don’t miss this test, it’s a lifesaver  

My NHS bowel cancer screening kit arrived this morning. I’ve laid it out ready in the bathroom and as yucky as it can be to take a faecal sample, I will do it and return it immediately in the post.

Seven years ago, when my late husband Paul was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer and given four months to live, he confessed that he’d received his kit eight months earlier. But he didn’t get round to it – ‘too busy’ was his sheepish excuse.

By then it was too late for recriminations but for our family, it was the cruellest life lesson learnt. If Paul had done the test, then just maybe he’d still be with us.

Anyone between the ages of 50-74 who is registered with a GP should receive a kit every two years as part of the £300million-a-year NHS bowel screening programme. It’s fiddly to do but straightforward and is saving precious lives daily.

When yours arrives, just do it.

You may think you’re fine, symptom-free and are maybe just a bit squeamish about it, but your life could depend upon it.