I was more surprised than I should have been when I watched the first episode of Harry and Meghan’s eponymous Netflix documentary. I jumped (and cheered a bit, not going to lie) when I saw someone I know being interviewed.

James Holt is now the Executive Director of Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Foundation, which aims to “unleash the power of compassion to drive systemic cultural change.”

Liberal Democrats may remember him as the party’s former Head of Media and as a special adviser during the coalition years. He was always one of the most positive and hilarious people to work with. I knew he’d gone off to work in the office of Princes William and Harry but had missed that he had continued his work with Harry and Meghan when they moved abroad.

His old local paper, for which he once worked, the Shropshire Star, reported that he was “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s new right hand man” last year:

He previously served as the couple’s UK spokesman, and has also worked with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

He also worked as head of communications for Sir Nick Clegg during his term as deputy prime minister.

The 38-year-old, who grew up in Shrewsbury, joined as a trainee reporter with the Shropshire Star in 2004, having graduated with a BA in Journalism at Lincoln University. He went on to write for the Star’s sister title, the Shrewsbury Chronicle, and during that time he spent six days embedded with the British Army in Basra.

Writing for both the Star and the Chronicle, he described coming under fire 10 times during his short stay, and learning about the deaths of two soldiers from Shropshire.

I wonder if James is the reason behind Meghan’s endorsement of Miriam Gonzalez Durantez’s brilliant charity Inspiring Girls on her Spotify podcast. . Back in August, Miriam expressed her gratitude to Meghan for doing so. Writing on Instagram, she talked about how difficult it could be to get much needed celebrity endorsements for the charity:

…publicity for the charity is enormously important for us to get as many (and especially as many diverse) role models as possible – and endorsements from famous women bring publicity that translates into many more role models for the girls. But I despair that if I ask a busy nurse or teacher for their support, they normally do it there and then, even though they have little time and resources – and yet if I ask a famous woman with huge teams and endless resources, I often need to beg them for it!

It is super-unusual in the world of social causes to find somebody with international projection who, as Meghan Markle did this week in her podcast website, will showcase a charity like Inspiring Girls without having even been asked for it. British newspapers have criticised her podcast as per usual. But I take my hat off to her for her generosity – if only other women at her level would act more like her on this!

I am sure it will surprise none of you that I have a lot of time for Meghan and Harry. What is not to love about a fellow liberal minded feminist? I think the way that Meghan in particular is being demonised in the press is disgraceful and rooted in misogyny and racism. Honestly, if you think that Meghan is our biggest problem at the moment and not the divisive, demonising, witch-hunting political culture stoked by the worst government we have had in our lifetimes then I seriously question your values and priorities.

Are they perfect? No more than I or any of the rest of us are. Do I agree with everything they have said or done? No, but that is not a requirement. Do I think they always understand their own privilege? No. I remember writing around the time of their wedding that they probably had no idea how hard it is for so many British people who fall in love with someone from another country. It costs thousands of pounds and probably takes several years off their lives in related stress to get a spouse visa, a process that they do not appear to have had to trouble with.

That said, I think that Harry and Meghan are good people with values that I share and they are worth listening to.

As a liberal I think that the establishment is there to be challenged and reformed when necessary so when someone with lifelong knowledge of the culture surrounding our Head of State speaks, we should probably pay attention.

I found what Harry had to say about consent was particularly important, particularly around media intrusion. If he wants to show us pictures of his children, then fair enough. But that should not give licence to every photographer for miles around to pursue them relentlessly. He also spoke about being brought up in that institution and being expected to comply with its culture without your consent.

After what happened to his mother, I can totally understand his anger with the media from the photographers on bikes to the editors who are willing to pay through the nose for their photographs. There was one point where you could see the anxiety on his face when he and Meghan were being pursued round New York. Harry’s courage is not in doubt. He spent two tours on army duty in Afghanistan for a start. You can understand why he sees a threat, though.

He’s livid at seeing how the Palace colludes with the press to ensure good publicity while not responding more vigorously when the press prints intrusive and damaging rubbish.

Meghan’s disgraceful experience of racism at the hands of the media is clearly shown. As James Holt said, she came on the scene at the time when the right wing media was, post Brexit, getting bolder and more divisive in its rhetoric.

What will probably be annoying the Palace most is the comments by several interviewees about the importance of acknowledging this country’s and the Royal Family’s contribution to the horrors of slavery. One person’s explicit description of the Commonwealth as Empire 2.0 seems unnecessarily harsh. That alone may make rapprochement between Harry and his family a lot more difficult.

While I would happily see this country move to an elected head of state, I know that the public are not at that point and there are more important reforms to make. I have a lot of time for many of the senior members of the Royal Family including William and Kate. I am sad that there is a rift between Diana’s children and their spouses and between Harry and his Dad. I hope that they reconcile at some point though I suspect that may not be soon.

What I’m not yet clear about from Harry and Meghan is what they think would be a good outcome for them. I think that many of their complaints are justified, particularly in light of what happened at Buckingham Palace last week. We need to remember that Lady Susan Hussey was one of those charged with mentoring Meghan when she first arrived. The institution needs to show it is capable of listening and changing to fit the times. Its members have been willing to take a stand on big and controversial issues before and they need to do so now.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings