Royal staff raised concerns over Meghan Markle's 'insincere' engagement interview
Royal staff raised concerns over Meghan Markle's 'insincere' engagement interview
Jane Lavender, Hollie Beale Sun, September 13, 2026 at 9:40 PM UTC
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have made their first return to the UK in six years after relinquishing their roles as senior working royals and moving to Montecito, California, with their children.
However, the Duke and Duchess's arrival has been far from smooth, after the emergence of a letter from King Charles explicitly outlining the couple's position within the monarchy and how they should be addressed.
In it, he said: "It is well known that in January 2020 the Duke and Duchess stepped down from undertaking representative duties on behalf of the Sovereign, and are no longer working members of the Royal Family.
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"The charitable work of the Duke and Duchess is a personal matter for them both and undertaken in their private capacity."
The correspondence also stresses that the couple's HRH titles remain suspended and cannot be utilized in any official capacity.
The couple are back in the UK (Image: Getty Images)
Harry and Meghan were said to be "surprised" by what the letter contained. A spokesman for the Duke and Duchess said: "We were a little surprised not to have been told about this in advance."
The couple's representative further suggested the statement had taken them by surprise.
Responding to the Duke and Duchess's comments, Palace officials informed the Daily Mail the assertion was "incorrect", insisting that the pair had received the letter 67 minutes before its public distribution, though they had not been consulted on its content.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on their engagement (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Despite this, the couple has now stressed they are "happy to be back" in the UK, with ensuring Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet adjust to school "remaining their focus".
A source close to Harry and Meghan told the US magazine People: "Everything else will fall into place when the time is right. 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."
However, a source close to the returning royals linked Uganda's decision to withdraw from the Duke's 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham to the King's letter.
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Uganda's military chief, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, announced the nation had pulled out of the sporting event due to "that Harry-Meghan nonsense", stating it would "not participate in anything" without the King's "approval".
A Sussex source told ITV News: "Intended or unintended, this is clearly a consequence of the Lord Chamberlain's guidance regarding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that was rushed out without consultation on Monday. Sadly, the only people who will suffer are the Invictus Games competitors."
Prince William and Princess Catherine are reportedly intent on avoiding any "drama" related to Harry and Meghan's return, with a source close to the Prince and Princess of Wales indicating they plan to "ignore" the situation to prevent heightening friction. The two couples previously seemed close-knit and earned the nickname the 'Fab Four', but in the years before Harry and Meghan's exit from the UK, relationships grew progressively strained.
Harry and Meghan revealed their perspectives on life within the royal family through multiple high-profile interviews, their Netflix series, Finding Freedom and Harry's book, Spare, following their move to America.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's response to King Charles' letter has 'overshadowed' royal milestones (Image: Getty)
Meghan's challenges in forming bonds with her royal relatives - including Kate - are extensively documented, and there was a telling sign that highlighted just how different the two women were from the very start.
Observers have pointed to Catherine and Meghan's distinctly contrasting styles during their engagement interviews, noting that Meghan displayed a substantially more confident demeanor than other women who have entered the royal family. Princess Diana seemed noticeably shy when she appeared alongside the then-Prince Charles following their engagement announcement in 1981.
Similarly, the now Princess of Wales seemed nervous during her interview with ITV's Tom Bradby alongside William in November 2010, with him leading most of the conversation. In contrast, Meghan seemed completely at ease in front of the cameras when her engagement was announced, possibly more so than Prince Harry, during their interview with Mishal Husain in 2017, according to the Daily Mail's Richard Eden.
He observed: "She was, after all, an experienced actress. Her body language, which saw her lean across her fiancé at times, made her seem the dominant half of the partnership."
The royal commentator also revealed that sources within the Royal Household during Mishal's 2017 interview believed the duchess's 'performance' should have raised more concerns than it did at the time.
"At the time, there was so much excitement about the engagement that no one really questioned some of Meghan's comments," one insider is quoted as saying. "But, if you watch it again now, some of her responses seem insincere and her body language is telling."
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
