The media frenzy surrounding King Charles III’s prodigal son’s return to his homeland remains surrounded by uncertainties and contradictory information. The Duke of Sussex has already been back in the United Kingdom for two weeks, and since then it was assumed he had not had any contact with his father, the king, nor with the rest of his family. Prince Harry, his wife Meghan Markle, and their children Archie and Lilibet have settled in Britain for what has been described as “a prolonged stay.”
The monarch was not informed of his son’s plans to leave the United States until three days before they became public. Apparently, Prince Harry called his father while the king was at Balmoral Castle. Prince William and his family were also at the Highland estate in Scotland at that time. But since that phone call, communication between them had been completely cut off.
Or at least that was what we believed. Now People magazine has revealed that Prince Harry and King Charles spoke by telephone during the first week of the Sussexes’ return to the United Kingdom. The family had already gathered last July at the monarch’s countryside residence in Highgrove. It was the first time that King Charles and Camilla had seen their daughter-in-law and their grandchildren since 2022.
This development could mark an important step in the father-son relationship after several turbulent years, and it comes at a moment when Harry and Meghan are focused on building a new life for their family on the European continent. For now, the Sussexes appear to be deliberately keeping a low profile while attending to one of the most practical aspects of their move: adjusting Archie and Lilibet to school.
“Public figures,” not “private citizens”
For the moment, there has been no official comment from the Sussexes’ team about their move. However, a royal spokesperson has replied to a letter issued on Monday by the Lord Chamberlain, in which Charles III clarified his status. According to this missive, Prince Harry and Meghan are “private citizens” and “there will be no change in the couple’s current status” following the Sandringham Agreement of 2020, in which they decided to stop performing royal duties.
Charles III, through the royal household’s top official, announced that Harry and Meghan would not be able to use their titles of Their Royal Highnesses and that any charitable work they undertook would be carried out in a personal capacity and not on behalf of the Windsor family. The letter was sent to senior military and government officials and was made public about an hour after it was delivered to the Sussexes.
Harry interviews his father for a radio program in 2017.
“We were a little surprised that we hadn’t been informed about this in advance,” said Harry’s spokesperson, hours after the letter’s publication. According to The Telegraph, he would have disagreed with the wording of the letter, particularly the description of him and his wife as “private citizens.” The Sussexes prefer the term “public figures” and also wish to be recognized as still being members of the royal family, even though they no longer receive public funding.
The publication of the letter also comes at a delicate moment for Harry and Meghan’s security. The Royal and Senior Officials Committee is set to meet this week to discuss whether to grant the couple police protection funded by taxpayers. Buckingham sources have denied that publishing King Charles III’s letter was intended to influence the committee’s decision, and have described the timing as a fortuitous coincidence.
A setback for Harry’s most cherished project
Prince Harry has suffered another hard blow this week, affecting his beloved Invictus Games. Uganda has withdrawn its team from the competition to be held in Birmingham next year. The decision was announced by Uganda’s army chief, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba. The stated reason? “To avoid the impression that we oppose His Majesty King Charles III of the United Kingdom, whom we deeply revere, Uganda hereby withdraws from the Invictus Games,” he wrote on his social media accounts.
“We will not participate in anything that does not have His Majesty’s approval,” added Kainerugaba. When asked what motivated his decision, the general, son of Uganda’s president, told The Times that it was about prioritizing the British sovereign, as a member of the Commonwealth. “There are factions in the Ministry of Defence that support Harry and Meghan’s antics,” he told the publication. “I had to put an end to it immediately. I support the monarch. And period.”
