King Charles III restated in a letter over the weekend that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not undertake royal duties following their return to the U.K. last month.
A letter sent on the king’s behalf to senior government officials said the couple — who gave up their royal duties and moved to California more than six years ago — will not use their royal titles and that any charity work they carry out will be done so privately.
The Lord Chamberlain, the highest-ranking official in the Royal Household, sent the note to senior government and military staff, as well as lord lieutenants, who are the king’s personal representatives around the country, the Associated Press reported.
“To help avoid doubt or confusion, The King has directed that this information be shared,” the letter reads.
The couple were reportedly informed of the note an hour before it was sent to the media but couldn’t respond to its contents before it was released, The Guardian wrote.
The BBC reported Tuesday that a spokesperson for the couple told the news agency the couple were “a little surprised not to have been told about this in advance.”
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The letter was released ahead of a reported meeting of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures. The body, which allocates royal security, is expected to decide whether Harry and his family are entitled to taxpayer-funded protection now that they have returned to the U.K., according to a news release published by the organization shortly after the couple’s return.
“Officials have indicated that a fresh assessment is required now that the family is resident,” the statement said. Harry’s state-funded security was removed when he left for California; several failed legal challenges to have it reinstated followed.
The King’s letter reiterated that the couple’s royal titles were “in abeyance and are not used,” and that they are “private citizens with commercial and charitable interests.”
“This position, distinct from the state and royal duties undertaken by the working royal family, and with the personal latitude it brings the couple in respect of financial independence and protection of their privacy as they would wish, will continue to be fully respected,” the letter said.
It went on to state that any questions regarding privileges afforded to the couple “particularly where recourse to public funds may be required” should be sent to Buckingham Palace, while “any operational security issues should continue to be directed to the relevant police authorities.”
After stepping down from official royal duties in pursuit of independent careers in 2020, the couple remained in the headlines following the release of a tell-all-style Netflix documentary and Harry’s memoir Spare, which detailed accusations of royal neglect, tabloid abuse, and what he described as the government’s failure to provide enough security for him to ever return home.
Relations with the rest of the Royal Family have since soured, though Harry has recently expressed an interest in reconciliation so he could spend more time with his father, King Charles, who is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer.
Harry told the BBC last year, “I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore.”
“There have been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family,” he said, adding that he has now “forgiven” them.
Harry and Meghan visited the U.K. in July, where they met with King Charles and Queen Camilla at Highgrove House, a country estate west of London, Buckingham Palace confirmed.
Harry has blamed the palace for stripping him of his police protection detail during visits to the U.K., telling the outlet it was at the “heart” of the family dispute, which he said had made it hard for him to see a future where he would bring his children and wife back to England.
Harry’s visit to England earlier in the summer also coincided with him losing a legal battle in his quest to tame the British tabloids. A judge ruled that he failed to prove his privacy invasion claims against the publisher of the Daily Mail.
The couple’s children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, have been enrolled in school and are scheduled to begin in September, the Associated Press reported in August.
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