KEY POINT
- A friend told Hello! that Harry and Meghan never agreed to abandon the possibility of combining royal duties with private commercial interests.
- King Charles reiterated that the couple are no longer working members of the Royal Family and conduct charitable activities in a private capacity.
- Friends quoted by The Times said the Sussexes dislike the labels “working members of the royal family” and “former royals.”
The debate surrounding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s relationship with the monarchy has resurfaced following their recent joint appearance in Nottingham. The visit renewed attention on the distinction between their continued public profile and their formal position outside the working Royal Family.
According to Hello!, a friend of the couple said Harry and Meghan did not agree to the restrictions established after their discussions with Queen Elizabeth in January 2020.
“They never agreed they wouldn’t be half in, half out,” the friend said. “That was what was decided and foisted upon them.”
The same person added that the arrangement did not trouble the couple because they were financially independent and could live their lives on their own terms.
The disagreement concerns the balance between royal connections and private activities. In January 2020, Harry and Meghan announced their intention to step back as senior members of the Royal Family. During the subsequent Sandringham Summit, Queen Elizabeth rejected a half in, half out model that would have allowed them to represent the monarchy while pursuing private commercial interests.
The decision established a distinction between remaining members of the royal family and undertaking official royal duties.
The question of the Sussexes’ status resurfaced after their return to the United Kingdom. According to the supplied reporting, King Charles issued a letter through the Lord Chamberlain reiterating that their position had not changed.
The letter stated that Harry and Meghan were “no longer working Members of The Royal Family.” It also described their charitable activities as personal undertakings carried out in a private capacity, alongside their commercial interests.
A source close to the couple challenged the description of them as private citizens in comments to PEOPLE, arguing that their public identities make an ordinary private life unrealistic.
The distinction is central to the disagreement: their family connections remain unchanged, but their activities are not conducted on behalf of the monarchy.
A separate report in The Times offered further insight into the couple’s objections to how their status is described.A friend told the newspaper that both Harry and Meghan dislike the phrase “working members of the royal family.”
The source argued that although they do not work for the institution, they remain members of the royal family and continue to undertake professional and charitable activities.
The same friend also objected to describing them as “former royals,” saying the terminology could influence public perceptions of the couple.
The distinction reflects two different definitions of royal status: membership of the royal family through birth or marriage, and official participation in the institution’s work. The Sussexes’ position, as described by their friends, emphasizes the former without claiming the latter.
The couple’s recent Nottingham engagements provided a practical example of their activities outside the monarchy’s official programme.
The city holds personal significance for Harry and Meghan because it hosted their first royal walkabout following their engagement in 2017.
Their latest visit included a series of charity engagements and marked their first major joint outing of this kind since their recent return to the United Kingdom.
Despite the renewed discussion about their royal status, a spokesperson for the couple described the response to the visit positively.
“Everyone came away feeling really positive and genuinely thrilled by the love and support they received,” the spokesperson told PEOPLE.
The remarks offered the couple’s own representative assessment of the engagements, while leaving the underlying disagreement over their royal roles unresolved.
The reports establish no change to Harry and Meghan’s formal status. Their friends’ comments explain why they object to the existing terminology, but they do not indicate that the restrictions established in 2020 have been revised.
For now, the distinction remains between the Sussexes’ public and charitable activities and official duties performed on behalf of the monarchy.
