In the newest instalment of Palace Confidential, Richard Eden and Sarah Vine voiced concern over what they described as Harry and Meghan’s unexpected return to the UK.
Reports this week suggested the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are preparing to relocate to Britain in the near future, with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet said to have been signed up for schools ahead of the new term in September.
King Charles is understood to have been caught off guard by the development, reportedly finding out about his son’s plans only on Sunday, even though the Sussexes were guests at Highgrove last month. Although their position as non-working royals is not expected to change, the Palace Confidential panel warned that their presence in Britain could create fresh confusion around royal roles.
Diary Editor Richard Eden said the monarch should draw a firm line with the couple, arguing they should either apologise for years of public criticism of the Royal Family and step away from commercial projects, or risk losing their royal titles.
Eden said the King should present the Sussexes with a clear choice: apologise for their public attacks and abandon their money-making deals, or face being stripped of their titles
According to Eden, Charles now needs to “put his foot down”, as he warned that failing to act could allow Harry and Meghan to build what he called a competing royal-style presence in Britain, potentially complicating the roles of William and Catherine and raising questions about “the future of the monarchy”.
Eden said: “The King needs to say to Harry and Meghan, if you want to come back into the Royal Family as working royals, then you stop the money-making activities and you publicly apologise to the members of the Royal Family you have offended. Only then can you return.
“Otherwise, he needs to remove their royal titles. You are no longer the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Your children are not prince and princess. You are living in Britain as private citizens, and that is made absolutely clear to everyone.”
‘He has to be firm, or the future of the monarchy is at stake.’
Columnist Vine concurred, saying the move ‘feels like a land grab’ as Harry tries to reassert his royal connections after a run of setbacks in America.
That, she argued, makes the move more dangerous for the monarchy, describing Harry as a ‘disruptor’ who will always look to wrong-foot the Crown.
‘The King is in a difficult position’, Vine began.
‘He’s not a terribly well man and you know, we all wish him a long and healthy life. But, if the worst should happen and Harry and Meghan were still in America, I think it would have been much harder for them to return.
‘Potentially, you could have seen the Prince of Wales stripping them of their titles and going quite hard on them.
‘I think part of the reason Harry wants to come back is because he wants to stake his claim. He doesn’t want to be on the outside when the leadership changes. I think that’s quite a cynical move.
Columnist Vine concurred, saying the move ‘feels like a land grab’ as Harry tries to reassert his royal connections after a run of setbacks in America
‘People will think they are working royals, and the credit will go to them – not to the Royal family. That’s what I mean about an alternative court. It feels like a land grab.
‘There’s going to be the problems that we’ve seen before, where Harry might go off and do a charity thing that clashes with a big engagement in the King’s diary.
‘The court circular – the thing about that is it’s all very carefully planned and engineered. You can’t really have people freelancing on that or going rogue.
‘But, that is how Harry operates. This announcement blindsided his own father. He likes to pull the rug out from under people’s feet.
‘He styles himself as a disruptor. He likes that about himself. That’s his thing – a master of surprise.’
Watch Eden and Vine’s full reaction to the news, including speculation over which part of the UK the Sussexes might choose to call home, by subscribing to Palace Confidential on YouTube.
