On Monday, the Lord Chamberlain – who is senior officer of the royal household – issued a big, public statement about the Sussex family’s status. This was Buckingham Palace saying, on the record and as clearly as possible, that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are not working royals and they’ve returned to Britain as private citizens, with no royal status, with no “half-in” royal work schedule. My immediate thought was “this is King Charles placating Prince William.” I even wrote that the statement was more about the heir than the spare, since William thinks all work done by Harry is “royal work” and therefore “against the rules of the Sandringham Summit.” It was also interesting that the Sussexes’ spox said, out loud, that the Sussexes were surprised by the statement. Well, Rob Shuter’s royal sources are proudly proclaiming that the clarifying statement was all about Prince William. The heir threw a salty-baby tantrum, basically.
King Charles issued the message — but sources say Prince William was the force behind it. After days of confusion surrounding Harry and Meghan’s return to Britain, Charles has formally confirmed that nothing has changed: the Sussexes are not working royals, cannot use HRH and remain “private citizens with commercial and charitable interests.”
William, sources say, wanted zero ambiguity.
“William had had enough of the confusion,” a royal source tells Naughty But Nice. “Lord Lieutenancies were asking how Harry and Meghan should be treated. William’s answer was brutally simple: nothing has changed. They are out.”
The clarification, issued through the Lord Chamberlain at the King’s direction, effectively kills any suggestion that returning to Britain brings the Sussexes closer to official royal life.
And sources say Harry and Meghan were stung.
“Their team received the message shortly before the rest of the world,” an insider tells Naughty But Nice. “There was no negotiation. They were informed. That was the moment they realized they had underestimated William’s power.”
Sources say the Sussexes hoped returning could gradually thaw relations and create an informal place around the family. Instead, they got a reminder: Megxit still means Megxit.
“They’re starting to question whether this return can work,” says the insider. “William can close doors faster than they expected.”
Charles remains King. But William is increasingly setting the boundaries.
“William has won, for now,” says the source. “Harry and Meghan are back in Britain — but they’re not back in the royal family.”
If the Sussexes’ spokesperson hadn’t issued a statement on the record, I would shrug off part of this story. The thing is, the Sussexes *were* surprised and it does sound like they really uprooted their family with zero guarantees about safety, position or even general reconciliation with Charles. “They’re starting to question whether this return can work” – this kills me because WHY DIDN’T ANYONE QUESTION IT BEFORE NOW? Y’all had all of this knowledge, all of these facts at your fingertips, back in July. Where was the strategy? Why weren’t there more realistic conversations about what to expect? Did the Sussexes honestly believe that the Windsors would suddenly stop with the humiliation rituals?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- Annual Commonwealth Day Service of Celebration at Westminster Abbe Featuring: Prince William Where: London, United Kingdom When: 09 Mar 2026 Credit: Aaron Chown/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 14: Prince William, Prince of Wales, Sir Timothy Laurence, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, King Charles III, Mr Peter Phillips, Anne, Princess Royal walk behind the coffin 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: 722674714, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Jeff J Mitchell / Avalon
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- 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
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- Prince William, Prince Harry and King Charles III The State Funeral of Her Majesty The Queen, Service, Westminster Abbey, London, UK – 19 Sep 2022,Image: 724167805, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Tim Rooke/Shutterstock / Avalon
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- WINDSOR, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 19: Prince William, Prince of Wales and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex join the Procession following the State Hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II towards 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: 724210501, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Setterfield / Avalon
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- Britain’s King Charles III and Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales arrive to attend the event ‘Countdown to COP30: mobilising action for climate and nature’ at the Natural History Museum in London on October 9, 2025. The event brings together changemaker’s tackling climate change and nature loss, ahead of the COP30 Summit in Belem in November.,Image: 1044423238, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: HENRY NICHOLLS/Avalon
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- King Charles III and the Prince of Wales at a reception for veterans who served in the Pacific during the Second World War, part of the commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of VJ Day, at Windsor Castle, Berkshire. Picture date: Tuesday November 11, 2025.,Image: 1051874448, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Andrew Matthews/Avalon
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- WINDSOR, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 03: King Charles III (second right) and Queen Camilla (R) with the President of the Federal Republic of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Büdenbender with Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince William, Prince Of Wales (far left) as they watch a military procession during the ceremonial welcome for the state visit to the UK at Windsor Castle on December 03, 2025 in Windsor, England. The President of the Federal Republic of Germany, accompanied by Ms. Elke Büdenbender, are paying a State Visit to the United Kingdom as the guests of Their Majesties The King and Queen. The visit is the first from Germany in 27 years and will be marked with ceremonial visits, an address to the UK parliament and a banquet.,Image: 1056240126, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Carl Court/Avalon
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- (Left to right) The Prince of Wales, known as the Duke of Rothesay when in Scotland, King Charles III, Queen Camilla and the Duke of Edinburgh during the Thistle Service at St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh, as part of the King’s visit to Scotland for Holyrood Week. Picture date: Wednesday July 1, 2026.,Image: 1113760157, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no , Credit line: Aaron Chown/Avalon
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- he Prince of Wales and King Charles III arriving for the Countdown to Cop30 event, hosted jointly by the Natural History Museum and UK Government and held at the London Museum, which brings together changemakers tackling climate change and nature loss, ahead of the Cop30 Summit in Belem, Brazil, in November Featuring: Prince William, King Charles III Where: London, United Kingdom When: 09 Oct 2025 Credit: Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR HELLO MAGAZINE**
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- Members of the British royal family during a reception at Buckingham Palace in London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth Featuring: (Left to right) The Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent, the Princess of Wales, the Prince of Wales, King Charles III, Queen Camilla, the Princess Royal, the Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Alexandra and the Duchess of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace in London, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth Where: London, United Kingdom When: 21 Apr 2026 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
Quelle surprise. I guessed that the “departing” Clive Alderton, who has probably been removed from RAVEC, decided to stick his oar in and so HE dictated that letter to the Lord Chamberlain, putting in the bits about “contacting BP re clarification of courtesies, particularly where the use of public funds is concerned” and “HRH in abeyance” to get back at H+M – with William’s full blessing. They had spent the past couple of weeks trying to figure out how to get those two points out, but could not print them on their own.
I guess people can once and for all stop insisting that Harry returned to “be near Charles” – especially as he simply told Charles that he was returning to the UK and nothing more (which is why the tabloids have nothing). I’ll absolutely eat my priciest hat if Charles knew anything (or much) about this letter, because he had already said all that needed to be said when the news emerged that they were returning. The Sussexes are carrying on with their lives and businesses as they have done in California. If they are in the UK for any family, it’s clearly the Spencers, not the Windsors.
I still envision some rowing back of the contents of that letter in the near future.
Do we really think Harry and Meghan are idiots? Because I don’t want to think I’ve been wasting my time championing a couple of bone heads for all these years.
I don’t think they’re idiots. I just think Harry is naively clinging to his last surviving parent and wants to stake a claim to his English heritage for his children before his evil brother takes the throne.
It’s now or never.
But I still hate it.
I also think the meeting with Charles and the kids in July went better than expected (much to William’s fury), and like every child in the world, they want their parents to love them. Harry thought he could return home and have some kind of relationship with the grandfather of his kids. But William’s jealousy is pathological. William is mentally ill (not sure which diagnosis). His children will suffer when they grow up with a father like that.
I get the frustration right now. I feel it too. But no, I don’t think they are idiots. Naive maybe. Optimistic. Harry has a soft spot for his family and he is somewhat sentimental and even blinkered about them, or at least about his childhood. But that’s not the same as being stupid. I feel like these are two people who like to take action, and will take the risks that go along with that. It’s just different now because there are two children involved. But they are clearly protective of the kids, so I have to believe they have thought about their safety and happiness.
IDK. Fingers crossed.
I think “idiots” is unfair. Who among us wouldn’t want a good relationship with our family? Especially when that family exists in a world/reality 99% of the planet can’t really understand?
Harry and Meghan are good people who have been severely abused. I don’t think championing them is a “waste of time.”
I’m not calling them idiots, but it seems the world is doing so – both fans and detractors – and I feel like openly challenging that.
No, I don’t think they’re idiots or that they all of a sudden don’t know who these people are. But that’s just me.
It’s me too. I think everyone needs to take a few deep breaths here. The spokesperson’s wording wasn’t great but it was also very clear – it was the timing that was the problem, not the content of the statement itself. The Sussexes know they aren’t working royals.
Just a quick co-sign @ Eurydice, Jais and Becks1!
There has been praise for H&M moving with stealth all along. I don’t think they are all of a sudden doe eyed fools. At all.
I read H&M’s surprise at the statement as more of a “well, duh” surprise? Or the surprise from H&M is “Uh- whoa – Who said anything about wanting to be working royals? Not us.”
SO: why would BP issue a statement clarifying what has been in place since the Sandringham Summit? What is the need? It feels bizarre but actually makes complete sense when I frame it this way: a classic Wills temper tantrum. Only with the temperature turned up because H&M are actually in the UK. Total crash out: TELL THEM DADDY. TELL THEM THEY AREN’T WORKING ROYALS.
And IF this story from Shuter is to be believed and the statement from Charles was actually muscled in by William it points again directly to what we all know: the obsession with H&M runs DEEP. Wills raging out so massively that there was a statement issued about an already agreed upon status quo? (Which, effectively stole is own / son’s Eton mess thunder, which is such a hilarious SELF OWN! My god.)
I get why H&M shrugged with surprise.
Willy sure turned out to be a highly toxic adult, he seems to find great satisfaction in being evil in the extreme.. he’s not happy unless he is stepping on someone else’s life and he is to cowardly to do it in person so he hides behind his propaganda machine with his briefings, while he may think this makes him look like a leader he comes across more like an intellectually challenged court jester and all this makes him and the monarchy look immature and pathetically petty..
Also, two of his three children are “spares” and will be reaching adulthood next decade. How tight a grip will he have on his children should they decide to flex their autonomy at some point?
Only Charlotte is the spare. Louis is in the same place that Prince Edward used to be. Born after the Spare.
I think William will suffocate them (figuratively) to the point of submission to retain complete control of all of the children he is that kind of abuser.
He will certainly control them financially. Neither one of them (Char or Louis) will have any other source of income. George gets the Duchy (Cornwall & then Lancaster), but the other two? Like Andy and Eddie, they will have to depend on handouts, on the whims of Daddy Dearest and Older Bro, or scheme to make some income (all of the others). Generationally always a bad/sad situation.
Agreed. Especially this part “That was the moment they realized they had underestimated William’s power.”
William reeks of Little Dick Energy.
Meghan hasn’t even really been outside yet (other than one brief sighting) and Harry is going about his business and a whole ass palace is releasing statements about them.
It’s ridiculous.
Every Royal Mayo post about Meghan (and Harry) makes Beyoncé ‘s lyric play in my mind “You know you that b*tch when you cause all this conversation.”
He shares a lot of traits with Donald Trump.
This is @Hypocrisy, AGREED !!!
Maybe Carole can plot to matchmake. Charlotte with a Prince from another European country. And Louis with a titled aristo from a wealthy family.
Harry lives in a fantasy world about his family. He wants them to be a family in the traditional sense (wouldn’t everybody?) but they aren’t. He can’t seem to come to terms with that. It’s sad.
This move was such a bad idea on so many levels and has been handled incredibly poorly. The former PR pro in me wants to yell at them.
What had been a story of strength and resiliance will from here on out be a story of tragedy. They stay, it is tragic. They leave again, this time tail truly between legs, and it is even more tragic.
If Harry executes some impactful projects in this time, I think it could shift the conversation. If Harry returned to do a documentary or some other projects about his mother and protect Invictus Games from his “powerful” loser brother’s machinations and to say goodbye to his father in a way that he can live the rest of his life with, that is more important that what the inhabitants of the gilded cage leak to the tabloids.
2027 is a significant year for Harry and it’s specifically significant where they have moved to be. I can understand why he would need to go and Meghan would be willing to go with him. For one year.
William is such a twerp that there’s no guarantee they’ll even be able to return for Charles’ funeral.
@Yup – I agree; History is written by the winners. H&M said this move was an extended period, they never said it was forever. Harry continues to do excellent work with Invictus and hosts an amazing game, then announces a major project or two and the story becomes more than “William forced them out.”
I hope they stay, if the UK is where they want to live and raise their kids. Pay no attention to that sociopathic Windsor family. No matter what, Harry is the king’s son and will always be even after Charles’ death.
Sussexit. And Scooter has no real power. He’s getting above himself. Again
“William’s answer was brutally simple: nothing has changed. They are out.”
Did he stamp his feet after making this declaration? I can totally see him stamping his feet and clenching his fists.
Scoot’s not in charge. SO Charles continues to let Scooter do as he pleases.
Meanwhile it’s 62 degrees and partly sunny in the Cotswolds. Sounds like a lovely day.
I thought that the “surprise” was more about dropping the letter the day before RAVEC was supposed to release their security decision. It felt like an attempt to tip the scales. I don’t think they ever planned to rejoin the family as working royals.
yes, i think this is clearly the issue.
William has won? Okaaaay? The fact that he felt the need to say that the Sussexes were not working members of the family. Again, they never said they were. The media has been saying a lot. Assumptions are being made left and right from radaronline to rob shuter to this site. Do they want to do charity and military work? Yes. Are they members of the royal family? Yes. But no they are not working members of the royal family and any confusion felt by the public is due to the confusing nature of what the monarchy constitutes as work and service. So sure put out a statement and clarify for the millionth time that the Sussexes don’t take tax-payer funds to do charity visits. Knock yourselves out. And say it’s all the Sussexes fault while you’re at it. They deserve the vitriol and side-eye for the choices they’ve made, right? Let me read so much more about that. It’s so so fun.
This statement letter also seems like the great distraction. No one is talking that Andrew’s name was read in the floor of the U.S. Congress as someone who raped children (and before the Poms come and say Virginia was 17 which is consent age you all know she wasn’t the only one, right)? Planes with minors – many very young – from Eastern Europe landing in the UK, brought by Epstein. Other survivors mentioned Andrew’s name. And Andrew was at the the island non stop and at Zorro Ranch, where horrible things happened.
William really thinks he knows what he’s doing with Harry, doesn’t he?
OK but the Sussexes don’t -want- to go back to being working royals?? They have never said anything to that effect? I don’t understand anything about the reporting around this announcement, it’s a big nothingburger that the media is trying to position as a failure or a rude awakening to Meghan and Harry.
I feel like I’m taking crazy pills.
Wait till Charles Spencer’s book is released this month. There will be more unflattering stories about Charles. They’ll need to do some damage control & will be worrying about Harry less..for the moment.
Don’t threaten me with a good time! I pre-ordered the book and can’t wait to read it. He’s a compelling writer too.
Me too, and I cannot wait!!!!
I am under the assumption that Charles doesn’t care much for his heir or his opinions. And that Charles doesn’t take any *advice* from W, let alone act on it
So this is a bit confusing, to me, at least
Charles needs to tell his heir to STFU and get to work. It seems the big toddler can’t resist twisting the knife into the Sussexes for just breathing! it’s not their fault that they are better at their charity work than him and his disappearing wife.
I’m just going to reiterate my theory that this move was/is two things: 1) to make the leadup to the Invictus 2027 events easier in terms of travel and time away, and 2) a test – for Harry’s family, and for the media.
So far, both the family and the media are failing. I won’t be surprised when they move back to Montecito next summer.
Someone is in a panicked and feisty mood today.
At the very least, Charles *knows* how much Harry gets under his brother’s skin, and is willing to tug at this insecurity any time he wishes to bring his errant heir to heel.
I go back and forth on this issue, i’m not surpised that Willy mayhave been behind this so his Dad did him a solid and obliged and ended up overshadowing his grandson/son’s first day at eton. but i think about Harry saying yrs ago he wanted out, did he not consider what would look like? he got out and was thriving so why the about face wanting to be near his family. plus all the things he learned during his trials, should have opened his eyes that makes me think something else is going on here and maybe the RF have centered them selves in something that had nothing to do with them which is down to media speculation
I don’t get how badly this has all been handled by Harry and Meghan when they usually move like ninjas and make sure their ducks are all lined up. I have to wonder about a lot of things now.
I think the Sussexes moved for a reason related to Charles which is why no reason was given. They are respecting Charles’ privacy. These stories about being surprised or having regrets – that’s William’s PR machine at work. He’s not taking any of this well and was probably behind that letter or whatever it was. The Sussexes are letting all of this blow over because it would be impossible to correct them all. I’m hoping that’s all this is.
Harry and Meghan left me confused and baffled when they decided over the summer to meet with Charles and Camila after Charles had just taken back his offer of a room to Harry at buck house. So these two have been making me scratch my head for a while . Not only the offer but the fact that after all the shit Charles has done to Harry and Meghan and their children by blocking their security and saying that Meghan couldn’t come to balmoral when the Queen died and taking away their uk house and security and that jermemy clarkson lawyer that Meghan would still allow these people to see her children after all this and more . What the heck did they expect would happen? It’s like they enjoy being humiliated and degraded. Why was it so clear and easy for Meghan to cut off all contact with her dog shit father but she can’t come to the same conclusion about Charles . They are both bad dads. If Harry wants to keep banging his head against a wall in hopes that Charles will finally see that he exists, well that’s Harry problem but I would never let my children any where near those people nor would I go near them . Not after the hell they put me through. This woman lost a child because of them and their media friends
As I said on another post the letter was about the Palace asserting control over the situation and also putting undue influence on RAVEC. It would be in William’s interest for that letter to be released.
I think the one journalist (I use that term loosely) was right about Project Thaw. I think that the government wanted Harry back, and William is bound and determined that Harry can not be back. Charles has been dithering as usual, but will always side with the heir in the end. I think that’s why the Sussexes were surprised and I think they really did think they’d be half in and half out, in a sense, because the government wanted them working on the UK’s behalf (it’s not like William is).
I think this is approaching the level of a constitutional crisis, much like in ’37, because the heir is unfit and the government knows it.
Should we stop suddenly taking what the British press spews out as something to be debated? The Windsors have not changed, the RR has not changed. All we can see for sure is that the Sussexes have decide to re-establish a family presence in the UK. I imagine such a move takes a lot of planning. Just because we found out a couple of weeks before it happened doesn’t mean that it was an impulse. I’m sure that Harry and Meghan’s first thought is, now that we’ve decided this, let’s announce it. Have we forgotten that Harry and Meghan usually announce faits accompli? I wouldn’t be surprised if the ball started rolling when Meredith spoke to Charles’s people during that famous en plein air meeting.