Harry and Meghan’s Return Is Already Getting Awkward

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been back in the U.K. for just two weeks, and their presence is already causing family tension. On Monday, the Lord Chamberlain Richard Benyon (a.k.a. the most senior official in the royal household) sent a letter to senior government officials on behalf of King Charles III, reiterating the fact that Harry and Meghan will remain nonworking royals. The couple — who are probably still in the process of deciding if their Montecito décor works in the English countryside — were “surprised” by the letter, according to a spokesperson.

The Lord Chamberlain’s letter, which was shared by royals reporter Tom Sykes, stated that there had been a “number of requests for guidance” on the Harry and Meghan situation. “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,” the letter read. The Lord Chamberlain added that their position is “distinct from the state and royal duties undertaken by the working royal family.” The couple are still not allowed to use the titles of His or Her Royal Highness, as was decided when they officially stepped down as working royals.

“The charitable work of the Duke and Duchess is a personal matter for them both and undertaken in their private capacity,” the letter continued, adding that they are to be regarded as “private citizens with commercial and charitable interests.”

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Harry and Meghan told the BBC that they “were a little surprised not to have been told about this in advance.” Royal sources, however, told the outlet that the couple did get a heads-up. According to the Guardian, the letter was shared with the couple’s team about an hour before it went to the media on Monday, and their reps asked if it had already gone out, hoping to let Harry and Meghan know before it was published. Journalists received the letter at 3:06 p.m., but Harry was in a meeting and unable to be contacted until 3:09 p.m. His team was told at 3:11 p.m. that it had, in fact, already gone out. This is one of those times when you should probably try to work around those Do Not Disturb settings.

Should Charles have maybe given Harry and Meghan a personal call letting them know that this was all about to go down? That would have been the polite way to do things, sure. Instead, he had his No. 1 guy send a somewhat shady letter to every journalist in the country and his people gave them what seems like a sort of halfhearted notice. I know British people aren’t exactly “warm,” but I need everyone to start being nicer to each other ASAP. According to a new report in the Mirror, Harry hasn’t even had a phone call with Charles since moving back. Perhaps Meghan needs to send her father-in-law a jar of apple butter to smooth things over — it’s pretty good!

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