King Charles issued a clarifying statement on Prince Harry & Meghan’s UK status

On Monday, Buckingham Palace made an odd move, and what was probably a move to placate a certain violently temperamental heir. The Lord Chamberlain issued an open letter to the media, to the British government, the British military and the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes’ team. The letter states, in clear terms, that the 2020 “Sandringham Agreement” still holds, that Prince Harry and Meghan are private citizens and NOT working royals, even if they moved back to the UK nearly two weeks ago.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not be working royals carrying out official engagements now they have returned to the UK, a letter sent on behalf of King Charles says.

The letter is intended to clarify the status of Prince Harry and Meghan, who moved back from California with children Archie and Lilibet last month.

They will still not be able to use the “HRH” titles of His and Her Royal Highness, and are “private citizens with commercial and charitable interests”, the letter sent on behalf of the King by the Lord Chamberlain, a top Palace official, says. It has been sent to Prince Harry’s team and to the government, military and Lord Lieutenants, according to Palace sources.

Lord Lieutenants and government staff might be involved in royal visits and engagements – and this letter makes clear that any engagements carried out by the Sussexes will be in a private capacity and not representing the Royal Family.

The message emphasises that the position agreed in 2020 when the Sussexes left the UK – the so-called Sandringham Agreement – is still in place. This ruled out any “half-in and half-out” status, so Harry and Meghan could not pursue their own commercial interests while continuing to be working royals.

The wording of the letter was shared with Newsweek and reads: “The charitable work of the Duke and Duchess is a personal matter for them both and undertaken in their private capacity. In short, their position is akin to private citizens with commercial and charitable interests.”

The letter added: “It is well known that in January 2020 the Duke and Duchess stepped down from undertaking representative duties on behalf of The Sovereign, and are no longer working Members of The Royal Family. This position, distinct from the State and Royal duties undertaken by the working Royal Family, and with the personal latitude it brings the couple in respect of financial independence and protection of their privacy as they would wish, will continue to be fully respected.”

[From BBC and Newsweek]

I have some thoughts, big surprise. This is meant as a clarifying document, the equivalent of “by the way, let’s just say all of this on the record so we’re all on the same page.” And I don’t actually blame King Charles and Buckingham Palace for doing that, because as of this moment, the Sussexes have still not given an on-the-record statement about their return to Britain and why they suddenly decided to uproot their family from Montecito. The roles were reversed between father and son – for years, Charles has benefited from stringing Harry along with vague briefings and a general lack of clarity. With the Sussex Return, Harry and Meghan are the ones keeping everything vague and off-the-record.

I actually went back to Team Sussex’s briefing to People Magazine about the return, and while their team emphasized that they were going back to the trauma blender as private citizens, they also emphasized that “those close to the Sussexes believe they have successfully executed the ‘half in, half out’ model Harry and Meghan proposed to the royal family in 2019.” That’s all Harry – he’s obsessed with the “half in” thing, and I think this was Charles saying “actually, no, you’re still all the way out.”

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.