While many fans of Meghan’s lifestyle show were surprised to not see any glimpse of her family in the latest series, royal expert Jennie Bond believes there is an ulterior motive at play

Meghan Markle made her triumphant return to her Netflix lifestyle programme With Love, Meghan earlier this week, and while her loyal fans were thrilled with the latest instalment, the second season welcomed a spate of scathing reviews from critics.

The show saw Meghan once again joined in the kitchen by a range of her famous pals and celebrity chefs, as they showed off cooking skills, hosting tips and crafty projects.

And while the Duchess of Sussex had an impressive lineup for the show, Prince Harry and their children Archie and Lilibet were nowhere to be seen. Meghan spoke candidly about her family throughout the programme, and while family photos were shown at a glance, there were no cameos from her husband or kids.

This was a stark contrast to the first season of the show, in which Harry made a surprise appearance in the final episode. He appears in the last 10 minutes when he turns up at a garden brunch Meghan throws for her family, including mum Doria, and friends. She introduces Harry to the camera at the brunch party, and he awkwardly waves.

While some fans and royal commentators were confused about Harry not appearing in the second series of the Netflix show, royal expert Jennie Bond believes it was all part of a smart move from Meghan.

She told the Mirror : “I think Meghan is very wise to keep the focus on her. This is her baby, her project, and I think Harry has deliberately kept out of the way so that the spotlight shines on his wife.”

Jennie said that while Meghan speaks about her family to her celebrity guests occasionally throughout the show, the lifestyle programme has nothing to do with her royal ties.

“She talks about him from time to time in the new series and also mentions her children,” she said. “But this is a lifestyle show about cooking and crafting and chatting with her guests. It’s not about being married to a prince. It’s about being an influencer and selling her products. And it seems to be doing the job rather well.”

Just hours after the second series of With Love, Meghan dropped on Netflix on Tuesday, critics shared their savage reviews of the show, calling it everything from “needy” to “‘narcissistic”.

Despite the line-up of celebrity figures featuring on the show, critics have shared their scathing reviews of the second series, with The Telegraph giving the lifestyle a two-star rating, panning the season as “marginally less mad but more needy” than its first instalment.

The review went on to call Meghan a “Montecito Marie Antoinette”, and called the series as a whole “boring and at times, pretty insufferable”. The Telegraph’s Anita Singh added that Harry’s absence from the show – despite the programme being based on the couple’s Californian home life – was becoming “increasingly weird”.

The sentiment was echoed by The Guardian , who dismissed the show as a “gormless lifestyle filler”. The publication also gave the second series a mere two stars, as the review went on to say how Meghan’s show is “so painfully contrived that it’s genuinely fascinating,” before questioning whether “Meghan’s impulse to sprinkle flowers over everything is a choice or a compulsion”.