Harry hasn’t spoken to king since return, takes issue with ‘private citizens’ wording

The Duke of Sussex has been back in the UK for two weeks now, but he hasn’t had any phone contact with his father King Charles.

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, returned to Britain in late August for what has been described as an “extended” stay, with their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, who are starting at a local school this week.

The monarch was only told about the family’s plans to leave the US three days before it was made public.

Prince Harry is said to have called his father while the king was at Balmoral Castle for his annual stay there during the summer. Prince William and his family were at the Scottish Highlands estate at the time, too.

But since that phone call, there has been no phone contact, or face-to-face interaction, between Prince Harry and his father, The Mirror reports.

King Charles is said to feel “perplexed” that his youngest son has not offered the courtesy of keeping him informed about the family’s plans, the publication claims.

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A source told The Mirror: “Harry has spoken openly about desperately wanting reconciliation and yet he is the one keeping his father and his family in the dark about major developments such as moving back to the UK.

“Such behaviour just makes it harder to deal with the Sussexes or know their true motives for moving their entire lives back to Harry’s homeland. The whole family are perplexed about the situation.”

‘Public figures’ not ‘private citizens’

There has been no official comment from Prince Harry and Meghan’s team about their return to Britain or the reasons for doing so.

However, a spokesperson for the family has responded to a letter issued by the Lord Chamberlain on Monday in which the king clarified their status.

Prince Harry and Meghan, the letter said, were “private citizens” and there would be “no change to the current status” of the couple following the Sandringham agreement, also known as the Sandringham summit, from 2020 when they stepped back as senior working royals.

The king, via the Lord Chamberlain, said Harry and Meghan could not use their HRH titles and any charity work they undertook would be done in a private capacity and not conducted on behalf of the royal family.

The letter was sent to senior military and government officials and made public one hour after it was given to Prince Harry and Meghan.

It was shared with the Sussexes’ office at 1.59pm on Monday (UK time), and 20 minutes later, at 2.19pm, their staff responded, asking whether the guidance had already been sent out, according to reports in British media.

Prince Harry and Meghan’s team had wanted to “clarify one or two points”.

Harry had been in a meeting and was told at 3.09pm that a letter had been drafted.

But it had been shared with the media three minutes earlier, at 3.06pm.

“We were a little surprised to not have been told about this in advance,” Prince Harry’s spokesperson said, hours after the letter’s release.

Prince Harry is said to have taken issue with the wording of the letter, mainly the description of him and his wife as “private citizens”, The Telegraph UK reported.

The Sussexes prefer the term “public figures”, the publication said. Prince Harry and Meghan were also wanting an acknowledgement that they remained members of the royal family, despite no longer receiving public funding.

The letter from the king marked the first official communication from the royal household about Prince Harry and Meghan’s return from California.

The release of the letter has also come at a precarious time for Prince Harry and Meghan’s security.

The Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec) − a group of officials from the Home Office − is due to meet this week to discuss whether the couple should be granted taxpayer-funded police protection.

Their police bodyguards were removed when Harry and Meghan stepped back as working royals six years ago.

Officials are due to discuss the findings of a risk assessment conducted in July.

The committee will then decide whether Prince Harry and his family should be entitled to some form of taxpayer-funded police protection or whether another risk assessment should carried out now that the Sussexes are living in the UK.

Buckingham Palace sources have denied the release of the king’s letter was done to influence the committee’s decision, describing the timing as coincidental.