Prince Harry attended a series of engagements recently without his wife, Meghan Markle. The Duke of Sussex’s busy two weeks of globetrotting have included stops in New York, the U.K., and South Africa. And one thing royal watchers noticed about him is that during each function he attended he appeared happier than we’ve seen him in a long time.

The prince was smiling, laughing, and joking as he met others at the events. Seeing him like this is such a departure from the angry, disinterested, and gloomy expressions he shows many times when he’s doing engagements with the duchess. Now some are questioning why there’s been such a shift.

Here’s what a couple of royal experts and someone who used to work for the prince think.

Experts give reasons why they think Prince Harry is ‘better on his own’ than with his wife

Prince Harry laughing and mingling with guests at a Sentebale reception in Johannesburg, South Africa | Brian Otieno/Getty Images for Sentebale

Most PR experts agree that Harry’s solo appearances are a deliberate strategy to try and rebuild his reputation. The point is to try and get it back to how favorably he was viewed when he was still a working royal. And while he works on that, Meghan can do things separately to try and put the focus on her lifestyle brand launch and upcoming cooking show on Netflix.

As PR strategist Mark Borkowski told the Daily Telegraph: “There has been a separation [of their work] for a while. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to think there’s something going on. She has been doing the jam thing, the Martha Stewart play. He seems to be going back to basics.”

And some royal commentators agree that this “profession separation” seems to be working at least in terms of showing flashes and reminding everyone of the fun-loving Prince Harry the world used to know.

Sky News contributor Louise Roberts explained: “You just have to look at the photographs of Harry and the video [during these trips] and you can see that broad smile. You can see that wonderful grin that we’ve missed and haven’t seen in a long time. You compare that to when they went to Colombia and he was sullen-faced. He was sulky. It was all about Meghan and he didn’t like it.”

Roberts added: “I do think there’s a clear strategy here to rehabilitate his public image and the way people view him as well and his reputation too. So I do feel the two of them as a sort of going concern, their reputation is still not good. But obviously, there’s a strategy and he must be on board with this to sort of push forward and do some of the charity work.”

Former royal staffer admits Harry does take a ‘step back’ when he’s with Meghan

Prince Harry smiles as he attends the Wellchild Awards 2024 in London, England | Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Someone who used to work for Harry’s family has also weighed in about how different Harry seems when he’s solo versus when he’s doing any engagement with Meghan where he seems to fade into the background.

Grant Harrold was King Charles’ butler for seven years. During his time working for the now-monarch, his duties included that of valet, house manager, and driver. He also looked after Prince William and Prince Harry whenever they stayed at Highgrove House.

Speaking on behalf of Slingo, Harrold said: “It’s been noted that Harry appears to take a step back and allow Meghan to take charge when they do public engagements [together]. This could be because he’s simply being a gentleman. Confidence has never been an issue for Harry, even when I worked with him when he was a teenager. But he probably looks happy and content on this recent trip knowing that Meghan is safe at home.”