Prince Harry has been branded “too dim” to grasp the realities of royal diplomacy after his team expressed surprise at King Charles’ decision to formally remind officials that the Sussexes must be treated as private citizens.
As RadarOnline.com has reported, Harry, 41, and his wife Meghan Markle, 45, were given advance sight of guidance released this week by Charles, 77, setting out their status six years after they stepped back as working royals.
The intervention came ahead of a reported meeting of the committee responsible for deciding royal security arrangements, including the Sussexes’ continuing battle over taxpayer-funded protection.
One royal source claimed to Radar: “There is real frustration within royal circles because Harry can sometimes appear too dim to grasp how diplomacy at this level actually operates. This was formal guidance being distributed to officials, not the opening of another negotiation with the Sussexes – and it was the result of Harry and Meghan continuing to pose in public as working royals, with trips abroad and charitable visits.”
The letter putting the Sussexes in their place was written at the King’s request by Lord Benyon, the Lord Chamberlain and the Royal Household’s most senior officer, and distributed to senior government and military figures.
Its purpose was to reiterate the position established after Harry and Markle relinquished their roles as working members of the Royal Family.
The timeline surrounding its release has nevertheless become another source of friction.
Harry and Markle’s team received the contents at 1:59 p.m. on Monday, September 7, almost an hour before the letter was revealed to the media at 3:06 p.m.
At 2:19 p.m., the Sussexes’ representatives responded to ask whether the guidance had already been distributed, apparently hoping there might still be an opportunity to clarify one or two points.
They received confirmation at 3:11 p.m. that it had already been released to the media.
A spokesman for Harry and Markle said: “We were a little surprised not to have been told about this in advance.”
A second royal source claimed: ‘The Palace view would be that there was nothing fundamentally new here for Harry to misunderstand. The King’s position has already been made clear. The Sussexes are not working royals, and their independent activities cannot be allowed to create uncertainty among government, military or other official bodies about whom they represent.
“Maybe this will finally get through to him now.”
The intervention also comes at a sensitive moment in Harry’s long-running dispute over security.
The Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures, known as Ravec, is reportedly expected to consider whether the Sussexes should receive taxpayer-funded protection.
Benyon’s letter reiterated the King’s position on the Sussexes by making clear that Harry and Markle’s charitable activities are undertaken independently rather than on behalf of the monarchy.
The guidance said: “The charitable work of the Duke and Duchess is a personal matter… their position is akin to private citizens with commercial and charitable interests.”
Another royal source claimed: “Harry may dislike the terminology, but royal diplomacy depends upon absolute clarity.
“Officials need to understand whether somebody is acting for the sovereign or acting privately. The King’s message now leaves no room for confusion about which category Harry and Meghan now occupy.
“The King had reached the point where he felt there could be absolutely no ambiguity. Harry and Meghan were returning to Britain, planning public and charitable engagements and attracting enormous attention, but none of that makes them working royals. Charles wanted that distinction put beyond doubt.
“There was a concern that, intentionally or otherwise, the Sussexes could begin to look like they were operating as an alternative royal household. The King was not prepared to allow a situation where people saw Harry and Meghan attending events and assumed they were somehow representing him or the monarchy.”
The insider explained, “Charles was effectively saying that they cannot have the appearance and status of working royals while remaining private citizens with commercial interests. That was precisely the half-in, half-out arrangement rejected in 2020, and nothing about their return to Britain changes it.
“This was not about stripping anything else away from Harry and Meghan. It was about drawing a very clear line. They can undertake as much charity work as they wish, but they do so as private individuals. The Palace clearly felt that reminder was necessary before the Sussexes’ public activities gathered momentum.”