The row over the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s status intensified on Tuesday after their spokesman said they had not been given enough time to respond before Buckingham Palace made public a letter confirming they remain private citizens rather than working royals.
The statement followed the release on Monday, 7 September, of guidance from Lord Benyon, the Lord Chamberlain, sent on the King’s instructions to senior figures across government, the military and the Lord Lieutenancies.
Harry and Meghan’s representatives said they were “a little surprised not to have been told about this in advance”, claiming they had hoped to clarify one or two points before the letter was circulated to the media.
Palace sources rejected that account, saying the Sussexes’ office received the letter before its public release, although the couple were not consulted on its contents.
Sussexes dispute timing of King’s letter
The letter was shared with the Sussexes’ team at 1.59pm on Monday and distributed to the media at 3.06pm, according to the account of events. Team Sussex said it responded at 2.19pm to ask whether the guidance had already been sent out.
The couple’s spokesman claimed the response was intended to establish whether Harry and Meghan could be informed before the media and given an opportunity to clarify the wording. The spokesman has not publicly specified which points the couple wanted to address.
Harry was in London at Tower Bridge Studios on Monday, where he was photographed during a visit, and his office said he could not be contacted until shortly after 3pm. He was then told that a letter had been drafted and that his team was seeking confirmation over whether it had already been released.
The dispute has added to speculation about tensions between the Sussexes and the Royal Household, coming just weeks after Harry, Meghan and their children returned to Britain.
Lord Benyon’s letter said there had been requests for guidance following the family’s return. It stated that there had been “no change” to the couple’s status, that their HRH styles remained in abeyance and that they were not to be used.
It also said the couple’s charitable work was undertaken in a personal capacity and described their position as “akin to private citizens with commercial and charitable interests”. Any public appearances by the Sussexes should therefore not be treated as official royal engagements, and questions involving public funds should be referred to Buckingham Palace.
The Palace has said the guidance was issued to prevent confusion among officials and did not represent a change to the arrangements agreed after Harry and Meghan stepped back as senior working royals in January 2020. Buckingham Palace also maintains that the letter was unrelated to the couple’s ongoing dispute over security arrangements.
The Royal and VIP Executive Committee, known as Ravec, is expected to consider the Sussexes’ security position. Harry has been seeking the return of round-the-clock armed police protection for himself and his family while they are in the UK, but the decision rests with the relevant authorities rather than the King.
The letter was published as Harry undertook his first reported public appearance in Britain since the family’s return. He visited Tower Bridge Studios, where he was pictured signing a mural, while Meghan later appeared in a photograph posted on her As Ever Instagram account.
The Palace’s intervention has been widely seen as a move to reinforce the boundaries set out after the Sandringham agreement and to make clear that the Sussexes’ return to Britain does not amount to a restoration of their former role within the Royal Family.
