Princess Diana's former private secretary speaks about Harry and Meghan's charitable venture

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle recently re-launched the website for their charitable venture, Archewell, using a picture of Princess Diana among others. This has raised a lot of questions about whether Harry is allowed to use his mother's legacy in his non-royal brand. Patrick Jephson, former private secretary of Princess Diana, has warned that Archewell "will fail" if the Sussexes move too far from the royal model of "personal sacrifice and public service."

Jephson made the comment during a recent virtual conference on promoting and protecting personal brands, organised by a US-based public affairs agency. The former royal staffer who is now a leading brand and reputation management expert noted that Harry and Meghan face an "evolving brand issue" with their new foundation.

"If it departs very much from that great tradition of personal sacrifice and public service that defines the monarchy brand then I don't believe it will succeed. One could argue that, at it's best, membership of the Royal Family gives you access to the most extraordinary and powerful brand in the world," he said.

Jephson further said about the couple's decision to exit as senior members of the British royal family: "To voluntarily divest yourselves of all those advantages in pursuit of something else is very daring - and we don't even know what that something else is."

The former Royal Navy Lt. Commander served as Diana's personal assistant from 1988 until her divorce from Prince Charles in 1996, which was a year before her death. He recently opened up about Diana's infamous interview with Martin Bashir for BBC Panorama, which is currently under investigation due to allegations that the journalist manipulated the royal and forged documents to gain the conversation.

"He (Bashir) knew he was pushing ethical boundaries to the limit, possibly beyond. His intention was to make Princess Diana distrust those closest to her and even put her in fear of her life. He succeeded," Jephson wrote for Mail Online.

"To pursue his journalistic ambitions, he was, allegedly, willing to poison family relationships, destroy careers and sow discord at the heart of the country's most precious institution. His strategy may have been simple — to strip the Princess of any possible defence against his stealthy attack — but planning, preparing and executing it was far more complex," Jephson added.

Jephson revealed that even he fell victim to Basir's conspiracy, as the journalist twisted facts about his life "into a grotesque tale of treachery and self-interest" to make Diana mistrust him.

"He told her that I was in league with her husband's advisors and paid to spy on her by the security services," Jephson said.