What is it like to be Prince Harry? Spare gave us a peerless insight into the unhappy, loveless life of a frustrated young man who was saved from a downward spiral into depression and addiction by the intervention of a saintly actress from Suits – for which we must all surely be grateful. But it increasingly seems as if everything that Harry does in the public domain is dictated by a mixture of hubris and aggression. Every photoshoot and every public statement is tinged with some underlying meaning. His latest stunt is no exception.

On Tuesday night, Harry and Meghan were photographed with Andrew Holness, the prime minister of Jamaica, at the premiere of the Bob Marley film, One Love. After their ill-fated forays into television, you might forgive the couple for eschewing association with the big screen. But no: there they are, photographed on the red carpet.

Did Meghan and Harry realise what the optics of this trip would look like?

Harry looks as if he would rather be anywhere else in the world; while Meghan has the practised thousand-yard stare of the screen performer who has been through this rigmarole more times than she has had hot dinners. Holness, wearing a similar blue suit to the one David Bowie donned on his 1983 Let’s Dance tour, looks delighted to be there. As well he should, given the implications that his presence has.

Holness, who is undoubtedly a decent and kindly human being, has made it clear that Jamaica should break away from the monarchy. When the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited Jamaica in 2022, Holness waited a few hours before declaring his intentions:

Jamaica is, as you can see, a country that is very proud of its history and very proud of what we have achieved. We are moving on…we intend to attain our developing goals and to fulfil our true ambitions as an independent, developed, prosperous country.

As a result, the couple’s visit was widely seen as a disaster. But if Kate and William were forced to put on rictus smiles during their trip to Jamaica, Meghan, at least, was all smiles during her time in the Caribbean. Did she and Harry realise what the optics of this trip would look like?

The Royal Family is facing much uncertainty. The ill health of both the Princess of Wales and the King, and their indispositions both being announced on the same day earlier this month, has given an impression of matters not being wholly in control. As we salaciously await the paperback publication of Spare – and rumours that new material will be added to it, covering the controversy that arose when it first arrived in our bookshops – Harry and Meghan are still willing to put themselves out in the public eye. Any controversial associations that might be engendered are simply something that their family are expected to live with.

Bob Marley once said: ‘Live for yourself and you will live in vain; Live for others, and you will live again.’ Had these words been mentioned during the premiere, one can only hope that the dynamic duo might have taken heed of them. Fat chance.