A royal expert is speaking out this week to accuse Meghan Markle and Prince Harry of “playing the game to their benefit.”

“They are playing this game, certainly on the part of Meghan and Harry for their benefit,” said royal expert Jonathan Sacerdoti, according to The Express. “They are feeding this gossip machine constantly and the Royal Family as well relies on a certain amount of coverage.”

“Nurturing this image really that Great Britain and the Commonwealth should really adore them and feel affectionate and warm towards them,” he added. “Both sides are using the media and press.”

Since stepping down as senior royals last year, Meghan and Harry have repeatedly bashed the royal family to the press, claiming that royals are insensitive to mental health issues and even going so far as to claim that some of them are racist. This has led to a rift forming between Harry and his older brother William, and Sacerdoti predicted that the two of them won’t be spending any holidays together anytime soon.

“It’s perhaps unlikely that they’re going to be spending what we would think of as quality family time together at Christmas and New Years and birthdays,” Sacerdoti told US Weekly.

Sacerdoti added that while the birth of Harry and his wife Meghan Markle’s second child Lilibet “Lili” Diana has brought the royal family somewhat closer, there is still lots of distance between everyone.

“Just remember that the queen hasn’t met her latest granddaughter. It doesn’t seem likely that she’s going to anytime soon,” he said. “She’s barely seen Archie for quite a while.”

“On a human family level, forgetting them being the royal family, there’s already quite some frostiness and distance there,” Sacerdoti added. “So I suspect if things can go well, [then] maybe they’ll have the occasional meeting, but I don’t think it seems very high on anyone’s agenda.”

Earlier this month, William and Harry managed to put on a united front for the unveiling of a statue dedicated to their late mother Princess Diana at Kensington Palace.

“William and Harry spent the morning before the statue unveiling looking through old keepsakes, notes from Diana and bonding,” a source explained. “They have absolutely turned a new page in their relationship and have started the healing. Everyone around them was thrilled to see how close they were on the day of the statue unveiling.”