William, Kate and Charles' teams will ensure "they react with dignity" to Harry and Meghan's documentary

The big royal news at the moment is the two-part release of the Harry & Meghan docuseries on Netflix.

Whilst Volume 1 didn't include any earth-shattering revelations, a first trailer for Volume 2 appears to foreshadow a number of bombshells.

The Royal Family tends to only respond to certain situations when it's truly needed, and although they're reportedly reluctant to respond to the Netflix doc, they will need to do so in some way — whether it's indirectly or directly.

For a top publicist, the royal response strategy is all in the hands of the main households' PR teams (that's the team at Kensington Palace and the one at Buckingham Palace).

"Whilst there’s no doubt that the Royal Family would have been braced for the bombshells, their extensive PR teams will have been working behind the scenes for months in order to assess and manage the 'crisis' of this docuseries and the claims made within it in the best way possible," says Sophie Attwood, director of global PR consultancy at Sophie Attwood Communications.

"Just as all high-profile personalities rely on popularity in order to survive, so do the Royal Family. And so their PR team will not only have planned for every possible bombshell but also have worked out strategies with which to react to them in order to continue to retain public sympathy and more importantly, popularity.

"It’s thanks to the extensive PR teams, that they have the strategies to not only manage a crisis like this but also to come out of it stronger than ever."

But what most of the public doesn't know is that the royals have *already* responded, albeit in subtle ways.

"Whilst it’s unlikely that any of us will ever really learn what goes on behind closed doors, the Netflix docuseries as well as the way in which The Palace has reacted has proved incredibly insightful of something else. And that is the PR teams behind both 'sides,'" Sophie comments.

The expert explains that the Prince and Princess of Wales have appeared to time their social media content to draw some attention away from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, for example.

"Regardless of what side of the Royal Family divide your sympathies may fall on, the recent manoeuvres have highlighted not only the immense power of PR, but also the way in which, when used at the right time, it can evoke conversations that go on to sit within our national history," Sophie continues.

"As to how the Royal Family should react, their PR team will be ensuring that they react with dignity and are already working on their next strategy to continue to win over the public!"

Even though it looks like Volume 2 of Harry & Meghan has the potential to ruffle many feathers, Sophie doesn't think there will be long-lasting damage to the monarchy from it.

"Throughout history the Royal Family have been rocked by claims about them, as is common for high-profile public figures," she points out.

"However, the Royal Family 'brand' is already such a well-known and popular one it’s arguable that even something as sizeable as this will have a limited impact on their popularity.

"It may take years for the true impact to fully emerge, however in the meantime the key to limiting this damage is in the hands of their PR team and the strategies which they employ. If done well, they could in fact come out looking stronger than ever."