The King signed off a bombshell letter setting out guidelines on the status of Harry and Meghan, which they were left “surprised by” in a chaotic two days for the Royal Family
Harry and Meghan have lashed out at being labelled ‘private citizens’ by the King – and say they want to be known as ‘public figures’ instead. The couple were left “surprised” by a bombshell letter signed off by Charles reiterating their status.
The King asked the Royal Household’s most senior officer Lord Benyon, the Lord Chamberlain, to write to senior government and military figures setting out guidelines on their status.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were given just two minutes to digest the contents of the letter before being told it had been published in the media, sources claim.
And the Royal row rumbles on after they were said to have taken issue with the wording of the letter and instead want to be called ‘public figures’, despite previously saying they wanted to step away from royal life and live more privately.
The letter was revealed to the media at 3.06pm on Monday. It is understood the contents were shared with Harry and Meghan’s team almost an hour before at 1.59pm.
At the time, Harry was in a meeting and therefore had little opportunity to respond, becoming aware of the letter only two minutes before its publication. A spokesman for the couple said: “We were a little surprised not to have been told about this in advance.”
The letter was issued by Buckingham Palace’s top official, the Lord Chamberlain Richard Benyon, and confirmed the Sussexes will not be working royals allowed to carry out official engagements and will not be able to use titles of “His and Her Royal Highness”.
The letter states: “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… will continue to be fully respected.
“It follows that there is no change to the current status of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Their styles as His and Her Royal Highness remain in abeyance and are not used.
“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 Sussexes would prefer “public figures” as they feel it would “acknowledge that, on a personal level, they remained members of the Royal Family, despite no longer receiving public funding”, a briefing note from the couple said, according to the Daily Mail.