FAME-hungry Meghan Markle has been using shameless self-promotion tactics during the LA fires, an expert has blasted.

Royal author Hugo Vickers slammed The Duchess of Sussex for 'name dropping' her celeb fans, branding her 'wildly out of touch' as she and Prince Harry strive to remain in the public eye.

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He told The Sun: "They do have a habit, whenever anything significant happens...of putting out a statement which looks as though we have to hear their views on it, which, frankly, we're not really interested in.

"There's a much bigger picture going on.

"This has happened on several other occasions as well when they put out a statement latching on to some big event that's happened, usually rather an unpleasant one."

The blazes killed 25 people, destroyed 12,000 buildings and other structures and burned through more than 60 square miles of land.

Meghan, 43, posted a new video earlier this week showing herself opening T-shirts donated by singer Billie Eilish for a teenage girl whose home was destroyed.

The duchess had put out an appeal in the hopes the pop star would see it and replace the fan's lost clothing - which was a success.

She then thanked everyone who had volunteered to help during the fires, before name dropping the likes of musicians Adam Levine and Bahati.

Mr Vickers said: "I suppose that in that world of hits on websites and blogs and things, these names get noticed."

Referring to Meghan and Harry, he added: "They have to keep reinventing themselves. They [have to] mention all these names."

The royal expert went on to say that while Meghan's act came from the right place on the most part, "usually an act of kindness is better done quietly, without blowing a trumpet about it".

He described her "giggling" and "excited" about the boxes of T-shirts and other signed items from Eilish during the video - which seemed to miss the point.

He said: "It's a much bigger tragedy than just the T-shirt... her whole house is gone.

"The whole of Los Angeles, or large part of it, is in ruins. It's an absolutely desperate situation."

Mr Vickers referred to how Meghan and Harry were previously captured by a film crew heading out to communities impacted.

He described the duke as "standing around... looking rather spare", reiterating: "There are ways of helping people, and it's usually much better done on the quiet."

However, he did concede: "If they'd done nothing, they would have been accused of not throwing their weight behind the efforts to help people... but there's a bigger picture.

"I just hope that they're also helping people in other ways, because I'm sure they're capable of doing that rather than just getting a T-shirt."

He described the Sussexes' response to the disaster as "all very Hollywood" and sending out a mixed message, considering their royal background.

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He compared it to when the then-PM Theresa May visited the scene of the Grenfell Tower disaster and was accused of "making political headway".

When the late Queen Elizabeth did the same, meanwhile, it was considered "unbelievably extraordinary... because the Queen wasn't actually standing for election... she recognised it in a very discreet way".

Mr Vickers added: "The Queen did not put out any statement after that, saying what she'd done."

But the author said Meghan and Harry generally now fall into the "Theresa May category" in such a scenario.

He explained: "They're always having to reinvent themselves, and having to do things which keep themselves in the public eye...

"The point is that our working Royal Family are not doing things for themselves, they are serving.

"They're doing things for everybody else. Politicians and celebrities have always got this danger that they're going to be seen as self-seeking, making publicity for themselves, and using a tragedy to their own advantage - which may or may not be fair, but that's going to be the case, I'm afraid."

They do have a habit, whenever anything significant happens... of putting out a statement which looks as though we have to hear their views on it, which, frankly, we're not really interested in. There's a much bigger picture going on.

Hugo Vickersroyal author

Mr Vickers said it is "quite ironic" that Meghan and Harry "do everything possible to keep themselves in the spotlight" when they left the UK in 2020 due to what they considered too much intrusion from the media.

He said the "world of social media influencing" means people can accumulate lots of followers by promoting everything they do online in a bid to gain traction wherever they can in exchange for fame and money.

"They are definitely heading in that direction. I mean, that's their world. That is the celebrity world," he added.

However, furthering the irony, he said Eilish herself "comes out of this very well", considering her team arranged for the products to be shipped out and didn't even mention it on her own channels.

Mr Vickers added: "The reason that we take an interest in them (the Sussexes) is because of who he (Harry) is.

"Prince Harry is a well-known figure. He was a member of the Royal Family. We know a lot about his life.

"We know about his early traumas and the loss of his mother. We have a lot of sympathy with him.

"We know he served in Iraq. We know he set up the Invictus Games.

"We know all these things about him, and it's because of him that she gets all this publicity, and that's what they're exploiting."

The Sun has contacted the Sussexes' reps for comment.

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