Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have broken their silence after a reported row with the King over how they should be addressed. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved back to the UK in late August after spending six years raising their young family in Montecito, California.
The pair are said to be settling down in The Cotswolds, and Harry has confirmed he will make a series of “public engagements” for charities he supports in the next month, including the Invictus Games.
Row over titles
However, the pair’s move back has been clouded by a reported row over how they should be titled. In a letter released to the media on Monday (September 7), the King’s most senior staffer, the Lord Chamberlain, said they were “private citizens”.
That took Harry and Meghan aback, who issued a briefing saying they prefer the term “public figures” instead. They also took issue with the amount of notice they were given of the Lord Chamberlain’s letter, which was sent to their office 72 minutes before its release. Harry reportedly only had two minutes to read it before it went public, as he was in a meeting and could not be reached sooner.
Sussexes speak out
Now, the Sussexes have broken their silence and reportedly said they are “happy to be back” in the UK, and getting Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet settled at school “remains their focus”.
A source close to Harry and Meghan told the US magazine People: “Everything else will fall into place when the time is right”.
They added: “There is a lot to do. They have just moved halfway across the world and it’s been really busy getting the kids settled.
“Their focus has been on that, and will remain on that, for the time being. They are happy to be back.”
Invictus Games impact
However, it doesn’t look like the row over the Lord Chamberlain’s letter will ease just yet, as a source close to the Sussexes blamed the letter for Uganda’s decision to pull out of the Duke’s 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham.
Uganda’s military chief General Muhoozi Kainerugaba said the country had withdrawn from the sporting competition because of “that Harry-Meghan nonsense”, and that it would “not participate in anything” that does not have the King’s “approval”.
A Sussex source told ITV News: “Intended or unintended, this is clearly a consequence of the Lord Chamberlain’s guidance regarding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that was rushed out without consultation on Monday. “Sadly, the only people who will suffer are the Invictus Games competitors.”
