One royal family member said ‘oh no, not that again’ about the Sussexes’ UK return

The Charles Spencer/Swan Song storyline was a sweet relief for royal gossip. Spencer spilled some tea, reminded everyone that King Charles has always been trash, and also reminded everyone that Diana’s mercurial charisma will forever haunt the entire Windsor clan. All of this was bad news for the Windsors, obviously. But the royal press can’t say that. They can’t say “well, no one will ever respect King Charles again, knowing that he was giddy when his ex-wife died and hissing about how Diana will be forgotten soon enough.” So they’re talking about Prince Harry and Meghan, whose trials and tribulations were also overshadowed by Charles Spencer. This is the royalist agenda at play as they lick their wounds over Spencer: at least we can still bash Harry and Meghan. Some highlights from the Times’ “As the dust settles on Earl Spencer’s book, what will Harry do next?”

Harry’s engagements: Spencer’s book has eclipsed the return of the royal mischief maker-in-chief, Prince Harry, whose engagements have faltered. In New York the Duke of Sussex was left red-faced when a teleprompter malfunctioned during an impassioned speech about artificial intelligence for the Clinton Global Initiative on Wednesday. Harry had to abandon the address, giving way to Hillary Clinton, the former US secretary of state, and others while the fault was fixed. He returned to the stage about 40 minutes later. Last week, an awkward interaction between Harry and pupils in Birmingham went viral when a schoolboy complained about having “six cameras in my face”.

Not that again: Members of the royal family have mostly taken a weary and wary approach to the Sussexes. One family member, upon walking into a conversation in summer and learning the news that Harry and Meghan were returning to the UK, said: “Oh no, not that again.”

Poor Carole Middleton: For William, now affected by two new crises, his brother’s return and Spencer’s war with his father, there appeared to be a great deal of sympathy, particularly after the illness of his wife, the Princess of Wales. A source close to the family said: “Kate’s poor mother must be worried sick.”

William isn’t “livid”: Those close to William have said that rumours on the outside of the royal circle that he was “livid” about Harry’s return were not right. The reality is that those emotions have faded over the passage of time. More of a gentle smoulder, then, than fuming. Others have said that he felt numb to it all.

William’s thoughts on Charles Spencer’s book: As for Spencer’s book about his late mother? William was told the Palace planned to issue a statement but it was not the route he chose. The prince ignored a question from a reporter this week about what he thought about his uncle’s book. A friend said later: “It’s a book about his late mother and the funeral. How do you think he feels about it?”

The workaholic Waleses: Kate and William have decided that the best response was to get on with their work, helped no doubt by a tidal wave of public sympathy after Kate’s cancer treatment. Their team recognises the couple’s ability to “change gears” quickly, bonding together to stay upbeat and get the job done. This week Kate went from full glamour at the premiere of the film Digger in London with the actor Tom Cruise on Tuesday, to getting her hands dirty with some actual digging on Thursday — declining the offer of gardening gloves as she potted plants with recovering drug addicts at a rehabilitation scheme in Essex.

There won’t be competing Diana projects from the brothers: Kensington Palace has remained silent on Harry’s return and the Spencer book. Others won’t stay quiet for long, though. Harry is in talks with Netflix to bring out a documentary about Diana before the 30th anniversary of her death next year. The suggestion that William will go head to head with his brother with a rival film has been shot down. A Kensington Palace source refused to be drawn on William’s plans to commemorate the anniversary in August, but it is understood that he is unlikely to take part in a documentary.

What’s Meghan up to? The Duchess of Sussex has not been seen publicly in the UK except for a few photographs posted on her Instagram page and that of a friend. As the Spencer memoir went on sale, her As Ever website announced it was selling a new leather bookmark in “rich navy” decorated with the words “Only gets better”.

King Charles & Camilla are not eager to see the Sussexes: At Birkhall in Scotland, the King and Queen seem to be in no rush to invite the Sussexes to tea. A source said: “Of course, the real person Harry needs to be scared of is the Queen.” This week Camilla is understood to have been rallying the King’s spirits after the release of Spencer’s book by reminding him of the positives. It is something Harry might do well to think about after years of complaining.

[From The Times]

“…Helped no doubt by a tidal wave of public sympathy after Kate’s cancer treatment…” Why do they keep talking about the “cancer treatment” like it’s something super-recent? By Kate’s own timeline, she completed her treatment in the summer of 2024. Over two years ago. The rest of this is so obviously from William’s office though, especially the part where William is not livid (don’t say that he’s livid!) yet we’re being spoon-fed a pity party for a man whose biggest “crisis” is that his brother returned to live in the UK. The unspoken part of this piece is that William and Kate are throwing themselves into their busywork because of the Sussexes’ UK return, and that’s why we’re really supposed to have sympathy for them. “Those poor sausages, working three days a week, how absolutely devastating for them, Carole must be at her wit’s end!”

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