For years now, I’ve been saying that Prince Harry and Prince William need separate communications offices. They have different roles, needs and constituencies, really, as the heir and spare. Over the years, I’ve noted – as have many other people – that the conjoined communications staff for the princes has been a bad thing for Harry. William constantly throws his younger brother under the proverbial bus, and the KP office’s priority is clearly William and Kate, at the expense of Harry’s PR and activities. When Meghan joined the Firm, I had high hopes that she would get more involved and convince Harry that they needed their own dedicated staff, working solely on their issues. Well… I think that’s what has happened? Meghan and Harry are apparently looking to branch out and have their own office and a separate “court.”
They have long appeared to be the closest of brothers, bonded in tragedy and an inseparable element in the worldwide appeal of the royal family. Yet the pressures of monarchy, marriage and their diverging royal roles are presenting new challenges for dukes of Cambridge and Sussex. Princes William, 36, and Harry, 34, are considering a formal division of their joint royal household, which is based at Kensington Palace, and the creation of separate courts to reflect their increasingly different responsibilities.
A source close to William and Harry said: “The brothers have leant on each other and looked after each other since their mother died. But now they have their own families, they no longer rely on each other as before.”
Roya Nikkhah, the royal correspondent for The Sunday Times, shared exclusive intel this weekend relating to Prince Harry and Prince William’s roles within the royal family. And per Nikkhah, “the Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex are preparing to go their separate ways. William and Harry considering plans to split the Kensington Palace household and create two separate courts as their future roles with Kate and Meghan diverge.”
The “royal double-act” could soon be a thing of the past, “when Harry, Meghan and their child… move from Nottingham Cottage.” As Meghan’s first baby is due in the Spring of 2019, it’s likely that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be preparing for their exciting arrival, which might mean moving into bigger accommodation.
[From The Times & Harper’s Bazaar]
I’ve also been wondering about the Nottingham Cottage situation – I can’t believe the Queen hasn’t already given Harry and Meghan a bigger apartment/situation at Kensington Palace. Maybe she’ll even give them a place beyond KP – but where? I don’t know enough about how much space Charles uses at Clarence House and St. James Palace, honestly. As for the separate court… as I said, the brothers have needed separate offices for a while. Harry can’t even have devoted palace-communications coverage of one of his signature causes – say, Invictus – without William and Kate screaming “don’t forget about uuuuussssss” and demanding that Poor Jason put out a statement about how they’re super-keen about something. Of course, separate offices means there will be less coordination and the Cambridges and Sussexes will end up stepping on each other’s messaging and events more often. But… who do you think that will benefit? Meghan and Harry, just my opinion.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, WENN.
Its interesting.
Harry can’t outshine William but does naturally.
Hopefully Charles woman’s up and outlines the William and Harry’s roles.
+1 Woman’s up!! I likey!!!
Amen – way LONG overdue!
Why should the Lambridge be credited riding on the very Hard Work – dedication to royal duties of The Sussexs …
Getty photographer, who has covered William and Kate for years, said he was amazed that THOUSANDS of people turned up to see Harry and Meghan at one stop in NZ. There has been huge crowds at most stops.
The story the UK press has not reported extensively that the Down Under press did, is that Harry and Meghan had Huge crowds much larger than William and Kate, even with Pr.George in tow.
It’s about time. Harry and Meghan should to be independent of William/ Kate. This move should force WK to be more accountable in whatever royal work they do. I hope it will force them to man up and earn their keep.
Harry has a such a different role from William and Kate their offices should never have been combined. I suspect it was a matter of convenience for Harry. Now that he has a media savvy partner, it makes no sense to run a joint office with competing priorities.
I read that William has altrady done 200 engagements this year,which is more than what Harry has ever achieved. Even Kate’s numbers before her maternity leave were higher than what Harry was doing. At least William is doing more. The ‘whatever royal work they do’ part of your comment is true for all of them. It’s offensive calling work whatever they do.
Harry’ engagements for stuff like Invictus or Sentebale are rarely counted on the CC because they aren’t on behalf of the Crown and because he does so much work with them its hard to keep track. Harry and Meghan did multiple engagements for the IG in Australia but they only counted it as one engagement. Royal reporters have said that Harry would have around 350-450 engagements at the end of the year if everything he did was counted.
All royals, not just Harry, do work that is not counted in the court circular. Harry work with Sentebale and Invictus is being counted more and more in the court circular but Harry’s work with those two groups is not and never has been enough to overcome the work shy label that he and his brother have rightfully earned. Harry’s fans have tried to peddle for years that Harry’s been working his royal tush off and not getting credit for it but that was more fan fiction and wishful thinking than reality.
Added to that: the IG admin have had difficulty getting work out of Harry this past year, so no, he’s not been working his tush off. Neither of the brothers or Kate have worked up a bead of sweat between them in the name of work.
Harry works harder than William and Kate, but many of his engagements are not counted officially.
William and Kate are two of the laziest royals I’ve ever seen, who will be on the Throne one day.
Everyone who is a working Royal , works harder than William and Kate.
Sophie and Edward do 535 engagements a year, Sophie on her own close to 300, Edward over 300. Anne and Charles and The Queen amazing numbers Anne and Charles each , both close to 600 from what Last read.
William should be embarrassed that his 90+ year old grandpa out worked him.
Kate and William both seem to want the perks but not the work involved.
If there is going to be separate courts then Kate needs to step up. So far Meghan is leaving her in the dust. As future queen Kate needs to take the lead.
The Palace will always try to avoid Meghan out doing Kate, they may even rein Meghan back.
The royals all control their own schedules. No one is going to be asked to do less just line no one is asked to do more (as evidenced by William and Kate).
It’s about time.
Yes, Harry and Meghan will benefit the most. Harry & Meghan need to hire people who are going to be loyal to them.
The ‘fab four’ was never going to be sustainable in the long term. I don’t think there are deep rooted tensions between the two couples however this is a pre-emptive move. Two brothers & their wives living in the same palace grounds & sharing the same office space is a bit too much. It doesn’t take a genius to know that this sort of arrangement is unrealistic. It’s time the umbilical cord was cut between William & Harry!
It’s not certain who will benefit the most, a lot of it will come down to funding. Two separate offices means more money. Something tells me W&K will get the bigger slice of the budget by virtue of their position.
Yeah I agree that W&K will get the bigger budget because of their position – which is how it should be – but hopefully we see their work schedules also continue to reflect their position.
They are grown ups with families. I liked the idea of fab four, but I’m guessing that was just to ease Meg into royal duties. Just to show her from inside.
This way both Princess will get more responsibility. Guess it will be official once hm baby is born.
I was very hopeful that the Fab Four would be a success and that it would prevent people putting a wedge between them. I thought that they would have separate offices eventually but not quite so soon. Something must have happened to spark this rumour.
Some people on `Twitter’ are rejoicing and saying that they cannot wait for Harry and Meghan to have their separate Twitter account so that they can ‘unfollow’ the KensingtonRoyal twitter account, which they say has lots of followers mainly because of Harry and Meghan fans.
William and Harry are very different personalities and so are Meghan and Kate who in ordinary life would have little in common and be very unlikely to be friends.
I have always felt that William is very jealous of charming Harry and this mega successful tour would not have escaped William’s notice. Our future King William will never get adoration on this scale, unless they take their three children on walkabout. I sense that William is presently seething. I had hoped that he would use Harry and Meghan’s popularity to enhance his own rather than running away from it.
If there is any truth at all in this story, when further revelations emerge what happens next is going to be very interesting.
It’s like a divorce. It’s not a good look. I think it was expected, but yeah, it’s happened faster than thought. It’s clear there will be rivalry.
Thing is, who pays for it? Charles of course. But really the taxpayer.
I hated the Fab Four nonsense.
I am so happy that Harry and Meghan will have their own office.
William and especially Kate are plain lazy and do the least work of theSenior working royals.
What do separate courts mean?
Think of it as sort of like setting up separate businesses. Will and Kate will have their own office and staff to focus on their interests as working royals, and Harry and Meg will have theirs.
They’ll be under the same umbrella (The Firm), but Harry and Meghan’s staff will put their needs and interests as top priority. With the current shared staff, Will and Kate will always take priority over anything Harry and Meg are trying to accomplish or try to share credit for the work H&M are doing.
Kind of like how insurance companies have different departments – H&M are getting their own department.
This is a smart move and was inevitable, especially once Harry got married (regardless of who he actually married, this was going to happen IMO.) I don’t think it means that the brothers aren’t as close anymore as the article implies, I just think it means someone has realized that the brothers will be better served by two separate “courts.” Or rather, Harry will be better served.
It’s good and important for the brothers to appear together, to have some joint efforts, and same thing for the duchesses, but I think separate messages are important too.
I’ve been wondering if this was going to happen especially after the convenient leak about Kate fixing Broken Britain just before we heard about Meghan’s cookbook project.
Also, who gets Poor Jason in the split?
What leak? Can you share what you’re talking about? I read things here that sound so conspiratorial and yet the week Meghan’s cookbook project was launched, I saw nothing in the news about Kate. I bought Meghan’s cookbook so obviously I heard about her project. Maybe I’m a more casual royal observer and I don’t live in the UK, but by reading this site, sometimes I think Kate is unfairly judged as a boogey man, trying to shine a light on herself when it usually seems to me quite the opposite.
The conspiracy theories have been running rampant of late! People blamed Meghan for announcing her pregnancy so soon after Eugenie’s wedding because she wanted to steal the focus, and any time Kate is seen in public it’s “don’t forget about mee.” Which theory you decide to believe depends on the woman you support!
@Ms. Turtle. Google Kate and Broken Britain and it should come up. There was a story here about it as well. It came out on, I think, the Friday before the Monday cookbook announcement.
There was no leak. There was no announcement, just one tabloid specualting and others repeating this story. We don’t know if this “Broken Britain”-charity even exists.
Fair enough. I googled it and read it. It was announcing a new solo initiative she’s launching after the start of the year. Hardly announcing she’s fixing “broken Britain.” And if they released the info before the cookbook, how is that stealing thunder?
@Clarisse. That was not an announcement but that was definitely a leak.
@Ms. Turtle. I didn’t say it was “stealing thunder.” I think it was bad pr management to have two major stories that close together. It’s disorganized and clashes. I think the cookbook was too good to be overshadowed by that story but there was a lot of potential in creating a steady stream of smaller stories about Kate’s interactions with the committee.
Do you guys know about the Vanity Fair story, “The Mouse That Roared?” It was about Princess Diana back in the 80s, before it was common knowledge that the Wales’ marriage was broken. The Palace vehemently denied it even though the story was true. Makes sense though because the Palace works for the royals and their priority was protecting their public image.
If you do follow royal gossip, there are people who refuse to believe anything unless officially endorsed by the Palace and then there are people who run wild with any drop of speculation. When Kate was pregnant was George, there were stories of a surrogate even though you could clearly see Kate’s face had physically changed. People do take things to a ridiculous level but then there is also gossip that turns out to be true and if you follow the royals over the years, it’s fun to speculate and try to figure out what’s actually happening behind the pr. I think people sometimes lose sight that it’s fun to gossip, especially on a gossip site.
I also don’t think that Kate is trying to shine a light on herself but other people are desperately telling her that she needs to shine a light on herself now the far more accomplished Meghan has arrived.
Sooner or later the Cambridges will bring out baby Louis so that they can get back into the headlines.
Natalie , Yes, The Mouse that roared article, I read excerpts a few years ago. Great article.
I also watched a PBS show after Diana dies, called The Princess and The Press.
The Palace or those within definately leak to the tabloid press. I saw a interview where Royal journalist, James Whitaker said he had two Palace grey men who worked directly with Senior royals ,who would go to the Palace kitchen to a certain phone at a certain time and The Journalist would be told to call and he’d be put through and the Palace insider who worked with the Senior Royal would give him direct leaks.
In this PBS special about Diana, a ram royal journalist said, the British journalists would get stories from insiders that the British press would not print, so they would sell it to the US tabloids. He said the Natl Enquirrer and another cheesy supermarket US tabloid had much of the Wales marriage discord correct Years before it actually came out publicly, because the US tabloids were the only ones who were not afraid to Print the stories.
Long overdue.
Another important factor is that the monarchy is going through a transitional period. Philip’s retirement, the queen scaling back, staff resignations by some of the queens old guard, Charles positioning himself as the de facto leader & in a couple of weeks he will be laying the wreath on remembrance Sunday for only the second time in history, W&K moving their family down to London full time, William attending duchy of Cornwall meetings a role that is normally reserved for the Prince of Wales, and Harry now married & starting his own family. Splitting the offices seems like the logical step because everyone’s roles is now changing.
It’s a great opportunity for both couples to forge their own paths & focus on their own interests. And it has been evident for a while now that KP simply can’t cope with managing 4 senior royals.
I’m sure this is coming long-term but the report is hedged with a million conditional clauses and predicts the split coming in a vague future, after the Sussex baby is born. This reads less like sourced reporting to me than like a reporter taking a flyer on a plausibile scenario so he has an exclusive on the weekend.
I absolutely think the split is coming. I don’t think Nikkhah knows when, any more than anyone else on the Royal beat.
The Wales brothers seem dedicated to their joint projects with the Foundation and Heads Together. The social media accounts, the press secretaries — those things can be divided and it won’t really signal anything but growth and change. But if they divide their foundation, THAT would be news.
Well there may be no hostility behind it, they will have their own families and if the 6 of them will be in the streamlined monarchy, they can split more between them and without losing focus. It’s a good thing and will force each couple to be accountable and more dynamic. Also the folks who may lose their jobs from other older working royals retiring, can be redeployed.
Imho, it sounds like the Prince’s Trust is about to be thrust onto Wiliam or Harry (though it is William’s to undertake). Harry was very smart to conceive or develop Invictus. It can have a long legacy even if royals get the boot (although admittedly it wouldn’t exist if there were no armed conflicts).
The press tried to sell the “fab four” and I never bought into it at all in part because I don’t have any respect for William and Kate’s lazy, uninspired ways and Kate’s photo op engagements. I hoped that Meghan would catch on that being lumped with them would not help her and Harry’s image and encourage him to at least have separate communications. I follow Kensington Palace Twitter snd get the sense that W&K are a priority.
As for this Harry can’t outshine William nonsense I say just do the work, use your position for good and the Monarchy shines.
Good. It will be interesting to see what they accomplish with their own dedicated staff.
Unpopular opinion: H&M don’t need their own “court.” Now that the Cambridges have three children, H&M are out of the line of succession. A modern monarchy should be streamlined so that taxpayers are only supporting the central line. H&M are crown adjacent now, and are essentially state paid celebrities. If they want their own court, they need to work harder and prove that they see worth it.
They need their own court, until the 3 kids are adults. Charles and Camilla are in their 60s. They cannot just rely on Kate and William, unless a lot of charities are cut off. Then yes, HM would not need their own court.
It was already said they will cut charities. Most stuff will retire/die out with the current senior royals. Long overdue. The British monarchy is bloated
Did the Queen’s other children need their own courts? Only Charles made his own. Then William lead the charge and branched his own out of his father’s with Harry. It is only recent history that there are multiple courts. They should all be under Buck as there is only one true court – Her Madgesty’s court.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Harry and Meghan did align more closely with Charles.
To ‘rely on Wilnot Cannot Lambridge’ would be doom for the Monarchy .
This a great separation for the potential King Henry Sussex Court – and with the POW – this will show GB UK CW governments – who has been working for their people, and any future decisions to The Monarchy. We only need to take a look at the current – long ‘working’ Royal Tour …
End of year Court Circular count should be interesting – although the tours and events before marriage, wont count for The Duchess Sussex.
Well George and Charlotte better get started on their royal duties then. Get rid of Harry and Meghan all that’s left is Will, Kate, the kids and senior citizens, yup that will work.
I agree. These two don’t need it, but the Cambridges do. I think that is reason for the change now. They need one big base just for the family of 5. Building up the court for the next/after next King and Queen.
Just give it 5 years and William and Kate may already be Prince and Princess of Wales.
Harry and Meghan will likely get a minor office with a few good people managing everything till they retire as their kid/kids won’t be working royals.
Come to think of it, if they cut off the charities due to lesser working royals but in turn, the charities get more money because of lesser funding for the royals, it’s a win! Idealistic but hope that happens!
How are you so confident that Harry’s children will not be working royals? George, Charlotte and Louis will not be able to do everything.
There should literally only be one court. Prince Charles branched out way back when so he could play his PR games about Diana and Camilla. Will and Harry didn’t want to play games and KP was born. KP, while independent, actually tries to coordinate with BP unlike PC. They’ve tried to merge all three a couple times, but PC always pulls out. Anne, Andrew, and Edward have all done just fine under BP. They all have their own private secretaries, but they don’t all need an entire team devoted to them. People need to accept that Charles is bringing in the European/ Scandinavian model. Harry will work, but his kids won’t regardless of what he wants. Thankfully he doesn’t seem to want them to work.
I thought it was William who didn’t want to share office staff with Charles.
William and Harry wanted nothing to do with Charles staff because of all the PR games Charles likes to play. His staff regularly threw them under the bus for the sake of his image. Neither could trust them to actually work with their best interest in mind since Charles’ image was their main concern.
@Ainsley7,
Thank you so much for posting the backstory on how we got to this place and also pointing out that of BP, CH and KP that Prince Charles / Clarence House is the one of the three that seems least willing to coordinate and cooperate. Perhaps that will change as the Queen hands over the reins to Charles and Charles gets to be team captain and not just a team player.
@Natalie S,
What I recall is that William and Harry did not trust Charles’ staff and that is why they formed their own office. Also Robert Jobson has written a book on Charles that is being serialized in the Daily Mail. Jobson writes that in the 1990s Charles funded/gave William and Harry their own staff/court so that they would not be controlled by the POW’s office. Note that William would have just entered his teens at the time and Harry would have been even younger! So based on this new information, Charles himself laid the groundwork for his sons to form their own office.
@Ainsley 7 and aaa, thanks for the info.
From that excerpt: ‘But the Boss wanted his sons to have their own staff so that they would not be puppets run and controlled by his office.’
Charles is such a strange character. He so clearly loves his sons. Yes, he used William when he was trying to have Camilla accepted by the public but he also gave his kids the support and funding they needed to push back. It’s like he understands there’s something wrong with him and gives his sons the ability to protect themselves instead of entirely stopping his own behavior.
An additional thing for William -he used to play the two parts of his life -military and royal against each other and I think that could have also been part of why William was so adamant about being separated from Charles. A little more difficult to be sly when you share the same office staff.
I really don’t see William ever being King. After Charles I think it’s over and William won’t fight to keep it. He can live as a King without the restrictions and without the work if the Monarchy goes. He can live off of inheritience and the Duchy and go hang with the Middleton clan in Mustique and Verbier.
I actually agree. The Sussexes should be brought into the general Royal Family accounts like Anne, the Wessexes, etc.
But who will get custody of Poor Jason?
I think the Cambridges need him more
+1
Whiny Willnot and waity dolittle Lambridge! P-J will be even more busy.
Good. Team Sussex need people who have their best interests in mind when promoting them. Also, KP until Jason has been amateurish at best. While that seemed to be okay with the Cambridges, it’s not for the more media savvy Meghan.
Finally.
As for Nottingham Cottage, aren’t there rumours that H&M are moving into the Gloucester’s old residence, Apartment 1 once the upgrades are finished?
I feel like William has fought this tooth and nail for as long as he could, it’s allowed him and Kate to coast on the success of Harry’s projects for years. Harry finally seems to be in a really good place in his life, and I think that’s what’s prompted this, he’s got the partner he’s wanted for a long time and she’s ready to put on the work. He seems really focused on the two of them being a working team, and that requires a little bit more control over his messaging.
Exactly. William and Kate have been riding Harry’s coattails for years now. Let the do-nothings out on their own and it will be quite apparent how lazy and unmotivated they are.
Yeah, except harry has only outworked William one year, 2017, so that’s certainly weird claim to make
Harry is charismatic and has done a great job with Invictus and Sentebale, but the Cambridges are no more riding Harry’s coattails than Harry is riding Will and Kate’s coattails when he does work related to conservation or mental health.
Harry has been doing mental health work with veterans for years, stemming out of Invictus. He was doing those things long before William and Kate got on that bandwagon. Ditto conservation. The only conservation things William does are for Jecca.
Eh I have my doubts about any drama behind the scenes.
In my opinion Harry stayed under the same KP communications because he was just by himself and that doesn’t warrant his own office. When he married and became part of a duke & Duchess team, it was time to go separate ways and start his own ventures. However I think they just waited ’till after Invictus, because that is a cause that matters a lot to him and he wanted to do it as well as previous times. Invictus ended this weekend.
I think this will be best for everyone in the long run, honestly. The KP accounts seemed to struggle a bit with balancing coverage of the tour and coverage of the W&K stuff back home, and I’m sure it’s frustrating to have a ton of communications staff gone for a week or two during tours.
When I read this I wondered if there was a plan in place for a regency next year and if H&M might get Clarence House once C&C move to BP. I obviously have zero evidence for this but it did get me thinking about the bigger family.
I actually think there’s been a TON of social coverage of the Sussexes since they did their first event pre-wedding. Like, often at the expense of more in depth coverage of William’s events. One thing I noticed about the tour was that we saw a few photos and videos that the Sussexes shot and KP posted. I wonder if they’ll do more of that kind of thing once they have their own branch?
BP is going to be under renovation for a very long time so I suspect Charles will never move to BP as a place of residence. I suspect he will let the government take over maintenance of BP and only use it for offices.
Bet he’ll keep the money though that supposed to go towards the upkeep of BP!
The Queen has been given money for BP’s upkeep since 1953. She redirected it to family. That’s why the taxpayer has to cough up for a second time the moolah for repairs. It’s criminal.
I think rumours are Harry will get Highgrove and possibly Clarence House.
I read in a magazine that Charles want BP to be a museum and PW also felt BP should be a museum.
Charles is not about to give up Clarence House any time soon.
They’ll have to pry it out of his cold dead hands.
I think this is good for both. They have drastically different “brands” (W&K more traditional, H&M more modern) and it makes sense for them to be separated out now as their families are growing. I don’t think one is better than the other, just different. I know Harry has a dream of ‘normalcy’ but he is Diana’s son & married a mixed race American, so I don’t know how realistic that is. If this current tour is any indication of what’s to come from the two of them, the public interest will not fade because they appear to be dedicated to the work. I think William has stepped up a lot this year, it doesn’t get as much coverage, but he’s been making some moves (the Middle Wast trip comes to mind). Hopefully that will continue. If the Cambridges want repect to not just be in name only because William is the heir, they need to put that into action. I don’t know if Kate seemingly stepping back is by choice or not, but I would love to hear and see more from her more. She shines at events with kids so I think she should lean into that.
I agree with a poster here that i think harry and meghan should be absorbed under whatever entity looks after the other royals. Harry is 6th in line, and unless kate and wills have another kid, he’ll be fifth in line when Will becomes PoW. If they split into two separate courts, it’s just prolonging the inevitable as in 10 years or so as Meghan and Harry will begin fading into relative obscurity. Best to absorb them under the rest of the royals to save having to do it later. But with that said Harry and Meghan have a lot of attention on them right now so they can be prioritized for a while to capitalize on that attention.
@heironymous Harry and Meghan ‘fading into obscurity in ten years time’…when George will be doing his A levels, Charlotte starting secondary school and little Louis in Prep school……🤣
Harry and Meghan can still be working royals and fade into obscurity, they may fade into obscurity, not because they stopped being working royals, rather due to the public losing interest in them. That’s pretty much how it’s been playing out for decades.
Laugh of the day: I had a heart attack, because I was scrolling quickly and simply saw ” & Prince Harry are separating..” !!! Glad it was only this!!!
i dont understand the need for Harry and Meghan to get a fancy apartment in kensington palace or to be treated any differently than Andrew and Edward were treated. Andrew and Edward or Anne did not get the same homes or attention or money as Charles did. If Charles wants to cut off his brothers and their children for a smaller royal family, then he needs to start cutting off his younger son too. If there are fewer people aviailable to help, then enlist Beatrice and Eugenie and Harry.
Where exactly do you think Edward, Andrew, and Anne live? A studio apartment down the block?
They got free houses. All of them. Plus apartments in the palaces
Nothing on the scale of what hArry and Meghan are expected to get in KP.
Anne, Andrew and Edward have modest palace apartments in London and large homes outside London. IMO if given a choice between a large London apartment or being gifted a large country home like Anne and Andrew, I’d take being gifted the large country home because that will be something that the Sussexes will own and not something owned by the Crown / monarch on a grace-and-favor basis.
Andrew and Edward do, two combined 2-bedroom suites in BP each. Anne’s place in SjP is said to be 3-4 floors.
How many rooms are there in Anne’s London apartment? I don’t recall Anne’s apartment being mentioned when large London residences are brought up.
Potential King Henry Sussex is in the same position as King George -Elizabeth I, as his King qrandpa -Qn Mary before.
I think it was always going to happen if/when Harry got married and it s about time the DoLttiles were set adrift. They cannot hide any longer I never understood why Harry setup shop with those 2 to begin with as he would have been looked after by his fathers, more experienced, household. Poor Jason was always out of his depth esp with the media genius of William. The current household setup has had issue since over the years, it was full of young and inexperienced people d it showed.
I think the Suxxes household will be staffed by more experienced people, Meghan already has someone like this at her side in her Private Sec who worked for TQ for many years.
All in all it’s a good move, I wonder if Katie Keen will finally step up and do more or will she continue to hide behind the children. This stay at home mother narrative is not sustainable, nor was it appropriate for the position she chased after for 10 years.
This should’ve happened long before Meghan entered the picture, like right after Will and Kate had a George.
WHY does everyone need their own office? That sounds so wasteful. It’s not like these are the people doing the day to day running of the charities, it’s PR people, private secretaries, and other admin. Why is this not under all one umbrella, but with someone specifically attached to each royal so that everyone’s interests are represented adequately?
Harry is no longer the spare, Charlotte is. He is 6th in line, no longer 3rd, and once Cambridge babies grow up and have kids he will fall farther and farther down the line.
Harry is in the position Andrew was once Charles had children, technically Andrew was more senior as son-of-monarch, not son of next-monarch. He should go under Buck just like I would assume Andrew, Anne and Edward are. And Clarence should support Charles and William, and then just Williams crew once Charles ascends and the remaining crew (Harry, Andrew, Anne, etc) all stay under Buck with the team’s they’ve had for decades.
No reason for more than 2 offices, 3 is already proving bad for communication 4 would be overkill.
This makes a lot of sense. Harry having his own office is utterly absurd. My initial thought was he should join Clarence House but joining Buckingham Palace is sensible as well since that is where he is going to end up when Charles ascends. They would have to work out the funding, but that is not insurmountable.
Maybe it’s absurd for Harry to have his own office, but it’s perfectly in line with how other senior royals operate. Edward has his own office and private secretary. Andrew has his own staff (private secretary, press officer, etc ) and office as well.
All working royals have staff, namely private secretaries, assistants, communications advisors, etc., but that is not what I am referring to. There are currently 3 offices Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Kensington Palace supporting the BRF and Harry spinning off to form a fourth office is what I am referring to as absurd. If he wants to spin off from William and become part of Buckingham Palace or Clarence House, that makes sense to me and would be in line with what is in place with Andrew, Edward and other working royals.
There’s already a 4th office, though – the Duke of York. He happens to have physical office space at Buckingham Palace, but that’s just geography. He’s got a 7-member staff (plus interns), his own distinct web presence (both of which support his two daughters) and a social media presence. All paid for via “his private budget.” So again, it may well be “absurd” for Harry to do the same, but there’s certainly a precedent for it.
@hieronymous. it depends on the people each couple wants to hire. It’s not a matter of choosing between the couples if someone is wanted by one couple but not the other. It could be that the Sussexes gravitate towards a more experienced team or it could be the Cambridges or the teams could have equal experience.
I welcome this but I don’t think the Cambridge should be so quick to separate from Harry and Meghan.
At this moment, Harry and Meghan are the best thing going for the Royals. William needs to find his appeal with the youth because in 20 odd years from now, they will be the majority of the UK. It won’t be their grand parents or even parents who like the Posh Cambridges so much. Meghan and Harry relate to that demographic and the Queen knows it. It’s why she’s made Harry Commonwealth Ambassador. Between him and Meghan, they can easily keep the youth engaged because they attract them.
William and Kate don’t.
A separate office will benefit the Sussex. Meghan is Social Media savvy and if given more control over that outlet, I think they will be a force together. She’s always managed to keep people and fans engaged with her but not too personal but just enough where people listen and she looks relatable.
Anyone wanting the Sussex’s to fade clearly don’t want to see William have a successful reign. He’ll need his brother way more than Harry will need him.
I mean it makes sense for them to have separate teams. Separate and only tangentially related: I wonder if this will alleviate some of the “fandom” drama. The whole Sussex loyalists vs. Cambridge supporters is insufferable.
Help me understand why a 6th in line to the throne needs separate offices?!
But whyyyy?!?
Harry is the equivalent to Andrew or Edward.
Maybe I’m seeing this wrong. I don’t know. I’m open to enlightenment!
I like Meg and Harry. She’s great for BP. I cannot imagine that they will continue to be allowed to overshadow The Cambridge’s.
Again, I could be wrong. I believe Will and Kate will make sure they are front and center. I do believe there’s lots of maneuvering behind the scenes.
Both Andrew and Edward have their own private secretaries, though – Andrew employs a staff of 7.
Too much logic for this crew, lobbit.
Edward and Sophie do 500+ engagements a year.
They run circles around William and Kate combined.
William and Kate may get the most press, or they did before Harry married, but I doubt they will ever be the worker bees that some of the other royals like Princess Anne, PR. Charles, PR. Edward, Sophie are.
I think William’s goal is work as least as possible but get the most accolades.
Of course Harry will be given less priority over William. He’s NOT the future King.
In time, his role will be even more diminished as all spares to the throne are. Princess Margaret was pushed into the background as her sister, QEII had children in line to the throne. Prince Andrew receding into the background when Charles had Wills and Harry. Wills now has 3 children in line to the throne – Harry at this point is inconsequential. Wills and Kate will ALWAYS take precedence over ANYONE aside from Her Majesty and Prince Charles as the future King and Queen of the UK and the Commonwealth.
Keep spinning it maybe you’ll believe it. Margaret fell to the wayside because 1) the royals didn’t know what to do with her being smart as a whip and 2) her personal life.
Harry and Meghan will be senior royals for at least 20 years. William and Kate’s kids will not work until they are 30 if they follow their parents example. Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan get the best of both worlds. Global platform without the political wrangling.