King confirms Harry and Meghan remain non-working royals after guidance letter
King Charles III has confirmed that the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, and the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, remain non-working royals, with no change to their current status.
The confirmation came in a message circulated by Buckingham Palace. It said the couple will operate separately from the Royal Household. Non-working royal, in palace shorthand, means a family member who does not carry out official duties on behalf of the monarch.
The message was sent as a "letter of guidance" from the Lord Chamberlain, the senior official who runs the Royal Household. It stated that Harry and Meghan's styles as His and Her Royal Highness remain in abeyance and are not used. In abeyance here means held but put aside, not used in practice. HELLO!
A spokesperson for the Sussexes said the couple were caught off guard by the document. "They were a little surprised not to have been told about this in advance." The response was first reported on 8 September by outlets including The Guardian and Reuters, following an earlier Reuters report on 7 September that the King had reconfirmed the position.
Despite reports of silence between the households, Harry has spoken to the King since the letter was sent. Lord Benyon, speaking after the couple's return to the UK, described Harry and Meghan as "private citizens".
Their first appearance after the letter came at Soho Farmhouse in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. Harry used the gym there and then had brunch with Meghan. Meghan had been spotted at the members' club weeks after returning to the UK, having an early morning coffee.
The venue is a familiar one for the couple. Meghan held her bachelorette party there in 2018 before her wedding to Harry. The couple also previously rented a home in Oxfordshire while Frogmore Cottage underwent renovations.
For anyone following their return, the outing was low-key and social. No engagements. No palace diary entry. Just gym, coffee and brunch, while the paperwork set out where they sit in relation to the working institution.
