Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's awkward blunders during their trip to New York City would not have happened if they were still members of the Royal Family, according to an expert. Royal author Robert Jobson suggested that the couple were "falling into traps" because they were no longer "shielded by the royal package". This comes as Vanity Fair royal editor Katie Nicholl noted the Sussexes' embarrassing series of faux pas'.

       She said that the couple appeared "out of touch" during the trip.

       Ms Nicholl pointed to a trip to an underprivileged school in Harlem, where the pair wore clothes that "cost more than the combined incomes of the students' parents".

       Mr Jobson responded: "If they had been shielded by the royal package, the royal umbrella, they wouldn't be falling into so many of these traps.

       "And they would probably still have a degree of popularity and a chance to have a voice."

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       He added: "I don't think that in five years' time people are going to be listening."

       The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who moved to California after quitting royal jobs last year, spent three days in New York.

       The couple conducted a number of high-profile engagements during the much-hyped trip.

       However, Russell Myers, the Daily Mirror's royal editor, told the podcast Pod Save The Queen that the Sussexes failed to get a lot of traction from the US press.

       He said: "I was really interested in what traction this got in the States.

       "The only thing I've seen that was banding around Twitter was the New York Post taking a swipe at them for rolling up in town in a load of gas-guzzling vehicles, big old security detail.

       "I don't think it did get a lot of traction in the United States.

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       Mr Myers went on to say that the Sussexes might not be "as adored in the United States as we were first thinking".

       He added: "Certainly, they do have potentially a lot more supporters in the States than here."

       The trip marked the couple's first official joint outing since stepping down as senior working royals and Meghan's first public engagement since giving birth to their daughter Lilibet Diana.

       Engagements included a visit to the One World Trade Centre with New York's Mayor, Bill de Blasio, a meeting with the World Health Organisation, and a visit to a primary school in Harlem.

       Following a visit with Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, she said that the couple had participated in discussions regarding vaccine equity and climate change.