Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been back in the U.K. for a month, and senior members of the royal family still don’t know what their agenda is.
On Sept. 16, People reported that a palace source said, “The royal family still don’t know what their motives are,” just weeks after Harry and Markle officially moved overseas.
Royal commentators told Fox News Digital they are divided over Harry and Meghan’s return to the U.K., with some accusing the palace of undermining the couple while others said the intervention was necessary to reaffirm that they remain private citizens and will not resume a “half-in, half-out” royal role.
A little over a week after Harry and Markle made their plans to relocate back to the U.K. public, King Charles issued a letter via the Lord Chamberlain, Lord Benyon, stating that they would be classified as non-working royals.
MEGHAN MARKLE’S UK RETURN POSES PALACE CONTROL ‘NIGHTMARE,’ EXPERT WARNS
Royal broadcaster Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital that the palace is undermining Harry and Meghan’s return while preventing them from creating royal-style events.
“Harry and Meghan simply want to be left in peace, allowing themselves privacy to protect their children and to cover some charity activities. The palace, I feel, are being driven by officials and maybe William to constantly undermine this return. Officially, they are making sure Harry and Meghan are not seen to be creating royal-style events,” he said.
According to Turner, the letter on behalf of the king was unnecessary.
“In my mind, the act of clarification was not necessary, creating humiliation for the couple and a cowardly act by those behind the letter,” he began. “William may see the return as a distraction from his popularity and, as it seems already, Harry has received some favorable accolades from people he is meeting at events — this could be an annoyance to William’s ego.”
Hilary Fordwich, British royal expert, told Fox News Digital that the letter on behalf of the king was just clarification on what they already agreed upon when Harry and Markle stepped away as senior royals in 2020.
“Harry and Meghan claim to want a private family life in Britain with access to Harry’s roots, while they repeatedly invade their own privacy. They are retaining their independent charitable and commercial careers while also posturing themselves as working royals, which is directly thwarting the Sandringham agreement to refrain from monetizing their titles. The palace’s public intervention demonstrates the concerns surrounding their posturing with official royal type activities.”
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“The public clarification from King Charles III was another line in the sand, restating what was already agreed regarding the Sussexes’ departure for the U.S. in 2020,” Fordwich said.
“The Lord Chamberlain’s letter not only stated that the Sussexes were actually not undertaking royal engagements, it reiterated no change in their status, clarified that they are no longer working royals and that their HRH styles remain in abeyance,’ Fordwich noted.
Fordwich added, “The unusually explicit institutional language clearly indicated the degree of royal frustration regarding the Sussexes. It certainly didn’t state anything regarding the couple leaving Britain. It was more of an attempt to mitigate the ambiguity and blurred roles the couple keep creating, which is reputationally damaging to the royal brand, particularly due to the commercial aspects, as monetizing the monarchy is so distasteful.”
Richard Fitzwilliams, royal commentator, touched on the “half-in, half-out” royal role that Harry and Markle allegedly want now that they’re back in the U.K.
“My feeling is that Harry and Meghan will not get the opportunity to become a half-in, half-out, which is what basically they’ve wanted, not officially,” Fitzwilliams began.
He continued, “They won’t be working members of the royal family. Harry is, of course, fifth in line [to] the throne still. And there’s no question that I think they would like the option. After all, they have come to the United Kingdom in August without any warning by three days to the king. That is absolutely extraordinary. We still don’t know the main reason they are here, and their children have been taken to another school.”
Fordwich also discussed the “half-in, half-out” mentality.
“This certainly further strains H’s relationship with Prince William since he is deliberately disregarding the explicit wishes of their much-loved grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, who was adamant there could be no ‘half-in-half-out’ scenario,” she said.
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Fordwich continued, “Most wisely, Prince William is remaining dedicated to duty and his disciplined approach to the monarchy centered on the king, the Wales family and a limited number of working royals is appreciated by the public, as reflected in YouGov polling. His continuing to avoid all the Sussex ‘drama,’ will no doubt serve him most well.”
WATCH: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle unlikely to get ‘half in, half out’ royal role: expert
Earlier this month, a source close to Harry and Markle told People magazine that they are “public figures.”
“Members of the public know who they are. The idea that they can live a normal, ‘private’ life is sadly not realistic,” the source said at the time, while also raising concerns over their security.
Fitzwilliams touched on the security issue with Fox News Digital and weighed different scenarios where it would be difficult to grant Harry and Markle “VIP automatic security.”
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“But what would it mean if the security, for example, which is being looked at again, as Harry has requested, if they get VIP automatic security, and it certainly seems likely there’s going to be some compromise. Would that, for example, involve looking after Meghan in the United States? I mean, I would think it unlikely, but, of course, the point is not for the popularity rating. I think people don’t want it. It’s a question of the nature of the threat. And if they did get it, then the feeling is perhaps they should do a certain amount to justify it,” he said.
“Could they hope to get through to do royal duties or some royal duties of some sort in that way? Harry, after all, is thoroughly likable, and they regard themselves as public figures, and they would’ve liked an opportunity to clarify what was in the letter that the king said round,” Fitzwilliams continued. “We know Prince William is adamantly opposed to them doing anything, and indeed there’s a deep, deep rift there. He believes he’s been betrayed. And when you look at the situation since Megxit, you can see why they’re mistrusted. But there’s questions to whether or not in some form they will be performing some type of royal activity somewhere, probably Britain, even despite opinion polls, which are low. [It] won’t go away for quite a long time.”
