Prince Harry has unveiled a series of high-profile appearances in the UK and the US, as he and Meghan push back once more against King Charles’s description of them as “private citizens” — a label sources close to the couple argue is unrealistic given their global profile.
The Duke of Sussex is set to back charitable causes on both sides of the Atlantic through what his team has billed as his “September public engagements”.
His schedule includes a major awards ceremony in London later this month, followed by a trip to New York for the annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting during United Nations General Assembly week. There, he is expected to appear alongside former President Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Chrissy Teigen and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.
The announcement is being seen as a sign that Harry is increasing his public presence in Britain at a time of renewed strain between the Sussexes and the Royal Household.
Harry and Meghan are understood to remain frustrated by King Charles’s recent letter of “guidance”, which made clear they would not resume duties as working royals and would not be permitted to use their HRH titles.
Sources close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have indicated that they believe the King’s position does not reflect the reality of the couple’s public recognition.
Speaking to People, a US outlet often viewed as sympathetic to the Sussexes, one insider said: “Members of the public know who they are. The idea that they can live a normal, ‘private’ life is sadly not realistic.”
The remarks come as the couple continue their dispute over taxpayer-funded security, alongside claims that they have concerns about the safety of Archie and Lilibet during the school run.
Meghan and Harry appear unwilling to accept the King’s position, which stated that nothing had changed since ‘Megxit’, prompting a series of briefings from sources close to the couple.
One source suggested they should be viewed as ‘public figures’ rather than private citizens.
Harry and Meghan are too famous to be known as private citizens, a source close to the couple has claimed
In a letter of ‘guidance’ released on King Charles’ behalf, the Palace confirmed that the Sussexes have not returned to being working royals and cannot use their HRH titles
Their spokesman said on Tuesday that the couple were ‘surprised’ by the King’s statement and claimed they were not given enough time to respond before it was circulated.
Team Sussex has suggested that, despite being given just over an hour’s notice of the impending release, Palace aides did not give Harry enough time to ‘clarify one or two points’ in the letter written by the Lord Chamberlain on the King’s instruction.
In particular, the Sussexes appear to have taken issue with the assertion that they should not be treated as royalty.
The Duke of Sussex’s first public engagements since his return to the UK have now been announced, with Harry set to lead a series of charity events later this month.
Harry will attend the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards and the launch of the Invictus education programme INSPIRE, as well as taking part in one of his favourite annual occasions, the WellChild Awards.
He will also return to the US to support Bill and Hillary Clinton and their so-called Global Initiative on September 22 and 23.
Harry and Meghan were said to be ‘surprised’ by the formal letter sent by the Lord Chamberlain under the direction of the King to senior stakeholders in the Government and military, which classified them as ‘private citizens’.
The duke and duchess, who are waiting to hear whether they will be given taxpayer-funded security, are reported to prefer the term ‘public figures’ instead.
Full details of Harry’s appearances including the dates have yet to be published.
The events were described by his team as his ‘September public engagements’.
His appearances will include the first ever Invictus Spirit Awards which will celebrate individuals, organisations and communities who ’embody the resilience, service and unconquered spirit at the heart of the international Invictus Movement’.
At the launch of the INSPIRE programme, Harry will play pickleball with school pupils and participate in an assembly.
Designed by teachers for learners from early years through to Key Stage 5, the programme uses the Invictus Games and the stories of its competitors to create national curriculum-aligned resources in maths, English, Stem, art, performing arts, sport and PSHE (personal, social, health and economic) education.
Harry has been patron of WellChild – the national charity for seriously ill children and their families – since 2007 and regularly attends the awards ceremony.
The engagement is described as ‘continuing his long association with WellChild as the charity’s patron’, with the awards, which he has attended 15 times, being a ‘significant part of his annual programme’.
He will meet this year’s winners and their families, carers and health professionals to hear about their experiences supporting children with serious and complex health needs.
Harry and Meghan are ‘happy to be back’ in the UK, sources said last night in the first comments about the Sussexes’ return – despite a swirling row with Buckingham Palace over Uganda’s withdrawal from the Invictus Games.
Insiders close to the couple have maintained Uganda’s decision to pull out of the 2027 Games was a ‘direct result’ of a letter written by King Charles which insisted they are ‘private citizens’.
They also added that the ‘only people suffering’ as a result of the monarch’s letter are the Ugandan competitors who were set to take part in the upcoming games.
‘They made it very clear that the reason they pulled out was a direct result of perceived guidance from the Lord Chamberlain,’ they told People, which is widely considered the Sussexes’ preferred publication in the US.
‘This was an unintended or intended consequence of the letter — and that was always going to happen. Hence the wish not to rush it out.’
Yet despite the swirling row between the Sussexes and Buckingham Palace, sources say getting their children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, settled as they begin a new school year ‘has been, and remains, their focus’.
‘Everything else will fall into place when the time is right,’ the source told People. ‘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.’
It comes after the couple, who left the UK for America in 2020 in a move famously dubbed ‘Megxit’, are understood to have moved to a non-royal home in the UK last month while also keeping their residence in Montecito, California.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday morning, Ugandan General Muhoozi Kainerugaba said his nation would not participate in any event without approval from Charles, adding that he felt motivated to quash ‘that Harry-Meghan nonsense’.
Insiders close to the Sussexes also insisted that getting their children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, settled as they begin a new school year ‘has been, and remains, their focus’
The move came less than 48 hours after the King outlined that the Duke and Duchess are still not working royals despite the couple relocating to the UK a fortnight ago.
Meanwhile, PR gurus have claimed Harry and Meghan’s swipes towards the King following his letter threaten the future of the Invictus Games.
Mark Borkowski said Uganda’s decision to pull out of Birmingham 2027 out of respect for Charles III should serve as a stark warning to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Mr Borkowski said that ‘briefing furiously’ against the King and portraying themselves as victims does not resonate with the public, yet ‘they keep making the same mistake’.
He told Our News Outlet: ‘Uganda is the warning. The Sussex soap opera is now damaging Invictus, the one unimpeachable thing Harry created. The brand is beginning to consume the cause.
‘Harry and Meghan want the freedoms of private citizens but the power of royalty, and they brief furiously whenever anyone points out the contradiction.’
Uganda’s outspoken military chief, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, announced yesterday that the country would not participate in the 2027 Invictus Games because of ‘that Harry-Meghan nonsense’, adding: ‘I support the monarch. Period.’
It came hours after the Sussexes renewed their criticism of the King’s decision to classify them as ‘private citizens’ and make clear they are no longer working royals in a letter released following their return to Britain.
Combative statements and extraordinary claims in briefings by sources close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have dominated headlines since the King released his letter on Monday.
Mr Borkowski said: ‘They drive the PR. They keep making the same mistake, with their certainty that the narrative should start to unravel. ‘Woe is us’, the poor victims of the mighty establishment machine.
‘They’ve confused briefing with strategy. They want the freedoms of private citizens with the power of royalty and brief furiously whenever anyone points out the contradiction.’
Just two months ago, Uganda’s defence minister Kiryowa Kiwanuka posed for photographs with a smiling Harry at an Invictus Games gathering in London.
But General Kainerugaba, the president’s son, said in a post on X yesterday: ‘In order not to be construed as being opposed to His Majesty King Charles III of the United Kingdom, whom we deeply revere, Uganda hereby withdraws from the Invictus Games.
‘We shall not participate in anything that does not have His Majesty’s approval.’
Asked by The Times why he made the announcement, General Kainerugaba said: ‘I have factions in the Ministry of Defence that support that Harry-Meghan nonsense. I had to quash it straight away. I support the monarch. Period.’
The Sussexes then appeared to have blamed Uganda’s decision on the King’s letter.
Yesterday it was revealed that fewer than one in six Britons want Harry and Meghan to return as working members of the Royal Family now they are back in the UK.
This week King Charles made it clear the Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain ‘private citizens’. And a major poll reveals a majority of the British public agree it should stay that way.
YouGov asked 4,506 adults whether the Sussexes should become working members of the Royal Family again ‘at some point’ now they are back in Britain.
Just more than half (51 per cent) said they would rather the couple did not return to official duties.
Less than a sixth (16 per cent) said they should become working royals again, while a third (33 per cent) said they did not know.
The poll was conducted on Wednesday, a day after the Sussexes hit back at Buckingham Palace after it released a letter of ‘guidance’ confirming the couple were not returning as working royals.
