Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been accused of having "absolutely no intention of stopping pseudo-royal visits" after their trip to Nottingham this week. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who moved back to England in August after six years in the US, are said to consider themselves "public figures" despite King Charles's insistence that a "half in, half out" deal with the Royal Family is off the table.
Although the high-profile events were not official royal engagements, with a letter authorised by the King last month clarifying that they remain "private citizens", they bore all the hallmarks of such.
Friend of the couple defends future engagements
A friend of the couple told the Daily Mail's Alison Boshoff that they intend to carry out similar engagements in the future, supporting charities and causes close to their hearts. They said: "They can achieve great support for charities and intend to do so. There will be more days like this going forward. For security reasons, it had the shape of a royal event but that is because, ultimately, that is who they are."
The comments sparked backlash on social media, with one user writing: "There you have it. They have absolutely no intentions of stopping these pseudo-royal visits, no doubt clashing with the working royals. They have made their intentions very clear."
Social media backlash and calls for distinction
"They are not behaving like private citizens and a clearer distinction must be put in place," they added. Another said: "This must be addressed with a firm hand, otherwise they will continue to flaunt royal adjacency." A third wrote: "They don't need to publicise their visits. Why don't they do what other celebrities do and visit the institutions in secret and then release the photos afterward?"
Another source told the Mail: "[Harry and Meghan] are making efforts to re-enter slowly with humility and hope to win support that way. There is no intention to thumb a nose at the King or cause irritation." They added that royal-style visits are "what makes Harry happy" and are "in his DNA".
Nottingham visit details and Meghan's rare appearance
The duke and duchess visited Nottingham's Community Recording Studio (CRS), food poverty community action group Himmah Hub and Epic Partners, which supports young people through mentoring and sports programmes. It was the first time Meghan had appeared publicly at an event in the UK in four years, the last being the late Queen's funeral in 2022.
Harry and Meghan carried out their final official public engagement together back in 2020, when they joined the Royal Family at the Commonwealth Day service in Westminster Abbey.
Meghan's focus on family and business
Reports suggest quasi-royal visits will be "relatively rare" for Meghan, with the duchess focusing on her children, her As Ever lifestyle brand and rebooting her acting career. A source told The Telegraph: "She's reading a lot of scripts at the moment." They added that Harry and Meghan have "different professional priorities".
"Prince Harry's is his philanthropic work and public service," they said. "Her focus is on her family and children, followed by her business, followed by rebooting her acting career. Her public appearances will be relatively rare." They added that if Meghan had any time left, she would do "some charity work", adding that she is "not a working royal", but a full-time mother and entrepreneur. A friend of the duchess also told Hello! magazine that she is willing to "stick her head above the parapet" for "causes and issues she is really passionate about".
