On September 7th (Labor Day), Buckingham Palace released their clarification about the Sussex family’s non-working royal status. The controversy and back-and-forth between Team Sussex and the palace was still roiling on September 8th, and I imagine we’ll still be talking about it throughout this week and beyond. What’s interesting about the palace’s timing is that they stepped on two other major royal stories. One, the palace-vs-the-Sussexes drama overshadowed Prince George’s first day at Eton. Two, September 8th marked the fourth anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death. It’s absolutely crazy to say this, but I don’t think any royal marked the anniversary publicly? There were no visits to St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, no service at Westminster, no private reception at the palace. Hilariously, Tom Sykes was the one to point this out:
Prince Harry and King Charles III are pulling the public into their family feud after Britain’s reigning monarch sent a letter reminding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex of their private citizen status — despite their move back to the UK.
“Today marks four years since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, a woman who spent 70 years on the throne never making anything about herself,” Royal commentator Tom Sykes exclusively told Page Six.
“It should be a day for remembering her. Instead, thanks to Prince Harry, and I would argue the King, we have all been dragged into a squalid little argument between the duke, his father and his father’s staff, after Harry’s office told the BBC the couple was ‘surprised’ by it.”
A source close to Harry told Sykes that the surprise for Markle and Harry was “about timing, not content.”
“They agree with the letter. They accept Harry isn’t a working royal,” Sykes explained. “They just object to the fact that it landed in his office minutes before it went out and the King felt the need to restate a known fact at all.”
I mean… it’s true. Buckingham Palace’s timing is extremely weird. And of course the palace instigated this fight with Harry and Meghan – I doubt anyone at the palace believed that the Sussexes would just sit there silently after the clarification. So why did the palace hijack Prince George’s day AND the QEII death-anniversary? My theory is that King Charles would actually prefer to have a big, messy drama with the Sussexes rather than have the focus on his grandson or his late mother.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
-
- Ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall where Her Majesty will lie in state Featuring: Prince Harry, King Charles III Where: London, United Kingdom When: 14 Sep 2022 Credit: Cover Images
-
- LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 14: King Charles III, Anne, Princess Royal, Camilla, Queen Consort, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, Prince William, Prince of Wales, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Catherine, Princess of Wales, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Prince Michael of Kent pay their respects inside the Palace of Westminster for the Lying-in State of Queen Elizabeth II on September 14, 2022 in London, England. Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin is taken in procession on a Gun Carriage of The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall where she will lay in state until the early morning of her funeral. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III.,Image: 722674734, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: David Ramos / Avalon
-
- LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 14: King Charles III and Princess Anne, Princess Royal pay their respects in The Palace of Westminster during the procession for the Lying-in State of Queen Elizabeth II on September 14, 2022 in London, England. Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin is taken in procession on a Gun Carriage of The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall where she will lay in state until the early morning of her funeral. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III.,Image: 722680064, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: David Ramos / Avalon
-
- King Charles III, the Queen Consort in front of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex during the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, held at Westminster Abbey, London.,Image: 724154193, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Gareth Fuller / Avalon
-
- WINDSOR, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 19: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Anne, Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence ahead of the Committal Service of Queen Elizabeth II at St George’s Chapel on September 19, 2022 in Windsor, England. The committal service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, took place following the state funeral at Westminster Abbey. A private burial in The King George VI Memorial Chapel followed. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III.,Image: 724210666, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Setterfield / Avalon
-
- King Charles III and the Princess of Wales during a lunch held for governors-general of the Commonwealth nations at Buckingham Palace in London. Picture date: Saturday September 17, 2022. Featuring: Catherine Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge, King George III Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 17 Sep 2022 Credit: Stefan Rousseau/PA Images/INSTAR/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
-
- State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II held at Westminster Abbey in London. Featuring: King Charles III, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Peter Phillips Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 19 Sep 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
-
- State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, held at Westminster Abbey, London. Featuring: King Charles III Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 19 Sep 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
-
- State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II held at Westminster Abbey in London. Featuring: King Charles III Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 19 Sep 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
-
- State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, held at Westminster Abbey, London. Featuring: King Charles III, Camila the Queen Consort and Princess Anne Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 19 Sep 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
-
- State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II held at Westminster Abbey in London. Featuring: King Charles III, Camilla, Queen Consort, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Andrew, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 19 Sep 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
-
- State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II held at Westminster Abbey in London. Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 19 Sep 2022 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images **North America Rights Only**
And if I said that all this discussion about the Sussexes being surprised is missing the point. It was probably surprise, confusion and an eye roll about needing to make some big proclamation about something that was already known. Them being surprised stems form the fact that the Windsors felt so moved to restate the obvious. I’m sorry but it’s kinda funny. Do I think there could have been some more nefarious intent as in swaying RAVEC or putting charities off from working with the Sussexes and making sure they never reference them as an HRH? Sure, but all that’s to be expected. They’re just being so obviously and publicly insecure about it all.
The insecurity is glaringly obvious..
The Sussexes communications suck and are always defensive not on offense. Their ambiguity has left a vacuum that has been seized by their detractors. It’s year 6 and they still keep falling for cheap palace tricks. Imagine being naive as to not think the royals had shared the letter with the tabloids before you when that’s what they have always done. They shouldn’t have responded to this, and if they had to could have stated they agreed with the statement as it’s basically what they’ve been saying since 2020. We didn’t need to know they were suprised or what time they received the letter. It’s like the important stuff they should respond to they don’t and things they should ignore they jump to respond. I also believe they should have their team trawling through socials and blogs, this thing where they bury their head in the sand and pretend they’re in lala land is amateurish fgs!
It clearly mattered to them, so they spoke up. They aren’t puppets to be controlled, even by their own supporters—and I disagree that their U.K. move comms have sucked. It’s fair if they want to keep things private. Honestly, it is specifically their communication over this past year that has shown a massive improvement.
Everyone just needs to let things play out.
JeebusEffingChristus! Its 2026 and the world is still full of gullible people!!
Are there really sentient beings who believe that “a source close to Harry” is speaking to psychoSykes???!!!…..who believe that the Sussex comms team said they were “surprised” by BP’s gaffe if a letter?
I am just speechless as to how bad their comms is. 1) Stop communicating through „sources“. You said when you left that you would not, so don’t. 2) if their only problem was timing not content, then issuing this „surprised“ statement is even worse. Because it sounds as if they were hoping for something else. 3) This statement should have come from them when they arrived: „while we choose for our family to reside in the UK for an extended period of time, this does not change our role. We want to remain private citizens and ask for our privacy to be respected. Our commercial and charitable activities will be carried out in a private capacity“.
That’s all they needed to say, but I think Harry is worried about being called private citizens could gum up the works with RAVEC.
I wrote yesterday and I believe it even more today that the spokesperson who revealed that the Sussexes were surprised should have been fired.
You don’t give that kind of advantage to your adversary and Charles is definitely their adversary.
Although I think this was totally William’s doing and Charles was weak once more.
On X Squaddies did commemorate QEII’s death. Some referred to the palace/RF’s silence, saying stuff like, ‘Princess Diana died almost 30 years ago at age 36 and every years since people in the UK and around the word are commemorating her legacy and her as a person, but the queen served her country for 70 years, and nor her former subjects or her family publicly pay her any tributes’.
I believe her jealous son – who even in death doesn’t tolerate competition – has something to do with the silence, but the fact that the woman didn’t leave any actual legacy behind, is part of the problem of not commemorating her. What is there to be joyful or sad about, other than her longevity on the throne?
Maybe BP’s timing was because Jamaica is asking for reparations? I just want to shake some sense into everyone involved in this new saga. Gaaa Psykes is so hysterical all the time, I feel sorry for his wife, no wonder escapes by pouring plastic resin onto seaweed and calling it “art.”
Not mention Antigua and Barbuda removing their monarchial oathes. Plus whatever else may be brewing behind the scenes in the Caribbean ahead of CHOGM. Out of all commonwealth countries they seem to be the ones most willing/likely to make waves.
I think that letter was deliberately issued at the time because I think it was William who was raging and pushing for something to be done and the king thought oh well I’m gonna spite you and release it at the time I want! these people are crazy and no one come out looking good after THAT letter!
What squalid little argument is he talking about? I don’t see what the big deal is. Charles putting out a statement stating the obvious is weird but I think he did it to stop all the speculation from the RR which seems to have been a waste of time since the RR will just pick some other nonsense to go on about. As for Harry and Megan all they did was say they were surprised by the fact they were not informed, as far as I can tell they haven’t said anything else. All these pieces are just lies and speculation, just crap to talk about. I also do not think H&M owe anyone an explanation about why the moved to England.
https://www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/the-resentment-and-bitterness-of-harry-and-meghans-return-to-the-uk-5Hjdh8g_2/
At least this article makes it clear that father and son should be talking directly to each other and sorting things out together. Why does it have to be so complicated? Everybody and his dog are questioning Harry ‘s motives here. Well I question dad’s motives as well. Stop briefing that Harry hasn’t called you and instead invite him his family round to welcome them back to the UK. Why is he so lacking in basic manners?
The Palace’s actions in this situation is high questionable and I have come around to agreeing with the Sussex PR’s reaction to the letter.