Reportedly, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex took their kids out of the UK for the half-term break, a break which started last Friday. It’s widely assumed that the Wales family is also on holiday, and I would bet that they’ve left the country as well. I don’t know where the Sussex family is staying and I won’t speculate. I will speculate on their post-half-term plans though – I think the family will return to the UK, and they’ll probably stay there until mid-December, when they will hopefully return to Montecito for Christmas. Then, after that, maybe the family will go to Australia where Meghan can film Junior MasterChef. My point is that the Sussexes have their own schedule and they would be smart to keep that schedule to themselves and not place any kind of emphasis on coordinating jacksh-t with Buckingham Palace or Kensington Palace. Unfortunately, Harry is apparently super-sensitive about accusations that he’s willfully trying to overshadow his brother and father, and Harry wants everyone to know that he’s not trying to steal anyone’s thunder in the next few months.

Prince Harry does not “set out” to overshadow the royal family and will be “mindful” not to distract from the King’s Caribbean tour, according to a source close to the Sussexes.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not have any public engagements for the next couple of weeks, The Times understands. The couple will be spending time with their children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, during half term, but the King’s visit to the Caribbean is also a factor in Harry not scheduling any events. The King is in the Caribbean for nine days, culminating with a trip to Antigua and Barbuda for the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

On October 15, both he and Meghan visited Nottingham to support charity projects, in a visit which bore the hallmarks of an official royal engagement, including a walkabout to meet wellwishers who had gathered to greet them. On the same day, the King and Queen attended the ceremonial opening of the Senedd in Cardiff, where Charles delivered a speech. The Prince and Princess of Wales also made an unpublicised visit to Nansledan in Cornwall which was reported in the days afterwards.

GQ published an interview with Harry on the same day that senior royals welcomed the Sultan of Oman for a state visit at Windsor Castle last week. The on-camera interview was recorded in late September, and a spokesman for the Sussexes said it was GQ’s decision to publish it on that day.

Looking at the rest of the year, a source close to the Sussexes told The Times: “Harry doesn’t set out with an intention to try to pull focus or draw attention away from what his father is doing or what his brother is doing.

“That’s never his intention at all but obviously for him to be able to mitigate against that he does need to have decent foresight of what’s coming up … He definitely will take it into account.”

The source added, “Obviously with the King going to CHOGM and the Prince and Princess of Wales going to India, he knows about those things and he is obviously mindful of that as he’s planning his own activities as well.”

The Times understands the Sussexes will make further public appearances as a couple, with at least one more event expected before the end of the year, although Meghan’s priorities are said to be her children and her business.

The source said: “He doesn’t want to do anything really that pulls focus from the King’s important work so he’ll keep clear of that as much as he can.”

However, the source added that the Sussexes do not always have advance information of upcoming events. They said that withdrawing from the Nottingham visit to avoid a clash with royal events would have disappointed the charities involved. “He can only mitigate against clashes if information is shared with him in advance. Some information is shared with him but not all information is and that’s fine.”

[From The Times]

Ever since Harry met his father for tea in September 2025, it’s felt like Harry informs Buckingham Palace of his schedule, and I believe there has even been some coordination here and there (especially on messaging around Ukraine, NATO and Donald Trump). I support some message coordination, because those are sensitive political issues and Harry is wise to check in with the palace to avoid turning a delicate situation into a full-blown international incident. I’m less supportive of Harry and Meghan walking on eggshells to avoid overshadowing the limp dishrags of the royal family. The Windsors regularly have their thunder stolen by a stiff breeze. H&M need to stop pussyfooting around and just do whatever the f–k they want. I know they won’t though. Because “reconciliation” is the magic word being dangled in front of Harry.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.