Harry and Meghan Accused of Getting “A Taste of Their Own Medicine” After King Charles’ Blunt Letter

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may have been caught off guard by King Charles’ latest intervention, but royal editor Rebecca English has little sympathy for their frustration.

Appearing on the Daily Mail’s Palace Confidential, English described the Sussexes’ reaction to the King’s letter as “utterly petty,” arguing that the couple’s complaint about being given insufficient notice was difficult to reconcile with their own history of making major revelations about the Royal Family without advance warning.

The dispute follows a formal letter issued on September 7 by Lord Chamberlain Lord Benyon on the King’s behalf. Sent to government departments, military officials and lord lieutenants, it sought to remove any uncertainty over the Sussexes’ position after their return to Britain.

King Charles draws a firm line

The message made clear that Harry and Meghan’s return to the UK has not changed their status.

They remain non-working members of the Royal Family and are to be treated as private citizens with commercial and charitable interests. Their HRH styles remain in abeyance and are not used, while their charitable activities continue to be regarded as personal rather than official royal work.

The letter also reinforced the position established when the Sussexes stepped back from royal duties in 2020: there would be no “half-in, half-out” arrangement allowing them to combine commercial interests with official royal duties.

The Palace said the clarification was intended to “avoid doubt or confusion” as Harry and Meghan begin undertaking public-facing activities in Britain again.

But the manner in which the message was delivered quickly became a story in its own right.

Sussexes were “surprised” by the timing

According to reports, Harry and Meghan’s team received the contents of the letter at 1.59pm on Monday.

Their office responded around 20 minutes later, asking whether the guidance had already been released. The letter was subsequently made public to the media at 3.06pm, while Harry was reportedly unreachable until 3.09pm because he was at a London studio.

The Sussexes’ frustration was reportedly about the timing rather than the substance. Their representatives indicated that they were surprised they had not been given advance notice and had little opportunity to clarify or respond before the document became public.

English, however, questioned why that should have been considered unacceptable.

Speaking to Palace Confidential host Luke Blackall, she said the Sussex camp initially suggested they had received no warning at all, before clarifying that they had in fact received the contents shortly before publication.

She characterized the detailed response over the precise timing as “pettifogging and utterly petty,” arguing that the issue concerned an instruction from the head of state rather than a private family communication.

“Where was the notice” for Oprah, Netflix and Spare?

English also pointed to what she sees as an obvious double standard.

She questioned whether the Palace had been given advance warning before Harry and Meghan spoke publicly about their experiences, including their interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Netflix series, Harry’s memoir Spare and other interviews in which the couple discussed members of the Royal Family and the institution.

Her argument was straightforward: if the Sussexes expected an opportunity to respond before the King’s position was made public, why had the Palace not been given the same courtesy before some of the couple’s most consequential public disclosures?

“I don’t think this was the palace’s intention,” English said, while suggesting that many observers could nevertheless see the episode as the Sussexes getting “a taste of their own medicine.”

The criticism comes amid renewed tensions following Harry and Meghan’s return to the UK after several years in California. Their move back has generated fresh questions about how their public activities will fit alongside the work of the remaining working royals.

The RAVEC controversy

English also pushed back against another claim surrounding the timing of the Palace letter — the suggestion that it had been deliberately released ahead of a meeting of RAVEC, the Royal and VIP Executive Committee responsible for decisions concerning security arrangements.

The timing has attracted particular attention because Harry is seeking clarity over his security arrangements in Britain, and RAVEC is involved in decisions concerning taxpayer-funded protection.

English described the suggestion that the Palace was attempting to influence the committee as “pretty inflammatory.”

She said people she had spoken to had rejected the idea on two grounds: first, that the Sussexes were wrong about the timing of the RAVEC meeting; and second, that the Monday release had another explanation.

According to English, Monday effectively marked the beginning of a new term for royal engagements. With Harry and Meghan also preparing for what has been described as a busy programme of their own activities, she suggested the Palace wanted to establish their official status before that schedule got underway.

The wider question, however, remains unresolved: after returning to Britain and preparing for a more visible public presence, how much room will Harry and Meghan actually have to operate around the Royal Family without creating confusion over whether their activities are royal or private?

For now, King Charles’ message appears designed to make one point unmistakably clear: Harry and Meghan may be back in Britain, but their return does not mean a return to working royal status.