A letter sent on behalf of King Charles III to senior government and military officials caught the couple off guard when it was handed over to the media on Monday. This partly happened because they were given little time to review the letter’s content or comment on it, said a person familiar with the discussions.
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The couple’s representatives received a copy of the letter just one hour and 12 minutes before it was handed over to news agencies, the source said. The representatives had little time to respond, as they managed to contact Harry, who attended the meeting, only a couple of minutes before the letter was published, the source added.
The letter states that Harry and Meghan will continue to refrain from using royal titles, as they have done since 2020 when they stepped back from official royal duties.
Any charitable work carried out by the couple will be done privately, and operational security decisions will be made by the relevant police authorities, the letter adds.
“To help avoid doubts or confusion, the King has instructed that (this) information be shared,” the letter from the Lord Chamberlain, the highest-ranking royal court official, says.
Harry and Meghan stepped back from royal duties in 2020 when they moved to North America to earn a living from lucrative deals with Netflix and Spotify. At that time, Queen Elizabeth II made it clear that the couple could not be members of the royal family “part-time” and must give up their royal positions if they want to pursue such commercial agreements. Charles III reiterated this position when he became king in 2022.
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The couple’s reaction to the letter confirming that their status remains unchanged highlights the tension related to their return to the UK. Some court observers have expressed concern that Harry and Meghan’s presence in Great Britain could enable them to establish a kind of alternative royal court competing with official royal family members performing official duties.
The security issue is particularly sensitive, as Harry has long fought with the government over restoring publicly funded police protection for his family. Such protection was withdrawn when the couple gave up their royal roles.
The decision on whether to restore round-the-clock police protection for the couple must be made by the government Royal and Very Important Persons Protection Executive Committee (RAVEC).
The committee is expected to meet this week, said the person familiar with the discussions.
