Prince Harry and Meghan Should Avoid Royal Family Events in First Year Back, Says Expert
EXCLUSIVE: After the letter released by the Palace, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been advised to stay away by a leading commentator
PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle might not be seen anywhere near the Royal Family, or at least they should avoid them completely in public, according to a prominent expert.
Just this week, Buckingham Palace released a letter from the Lord Chamberlain, at the direction of King Charles III, stating unequivocally that despite their move, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's position is entirely private. After their sensational move back to the UK, the firm reiterated its position clearly: all work the Sussexes do for charity will be in a private capacity, as it hinted that the only change that has occurred for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is geographical.
However, many have previously speculated that Harry and Meghan might live in a 'private royals plus' scenario, where they largely live as private citizens but make the odd appearance at huge events such as Trooping the Colour, the Windsor Easter services, or even a Christmas walkabout at Sandringham. But royal expert Victoria Arbiter has poured water on that scenario, stating that the Sussexes should largely avoid those events for their first year back on Harry's home soil.
Speaking exclusively to the Royal Observer, when asked about the possibility of the odd appearance, she remarked: "I think that's where the lines get really blurry and really murky. And certainly for this first year at home, I think all of that is probably best avoided." Arbiter continued: "There's been a lot of talk that the Sussexes are planning to spend Christmas in Montecito back with Meghan's mother. That would probably be a very good idea for this year because this year of firsts is where the press are really going to be watching, and so are the public."
She added: "Harry and Meghan can't afford at this point to really make any mistakes. I think where it's going to get complicated is events like Remembrance Sunday. Everyone talks about the fact that Harry was a serving officer, conducted two tours of duty. He has a right to be at Remembrance Sunday, but actually, when we look at Remembrance Sunday, everybody that is laying a wreath in an official capacity is not doing so for personal reasons."
Arbiter continued: "They're doing so because they're representing the regiment or veterans, or they're representing the nation. So nobody gets to just go and lay a wreath; it's not a forum for Harry to do that. What I hope Harry doesn't do is just go off somewhere else around the country and choose to lay a wreath at another war memorial because that will then lead to complicated 'the Windsors are at war' headlines and negativity ... most of all, Harry, it will just continue."
In particular, the expert thinks the high-profile family occasions could be a particularly 'tricky' issue for the Royal Family to work around. She speculated that if Harry and Meghan were to receive an invite from the King to spend Christmas at Sandringham, Prince William and Princess Catherine might decide instead to spend the holiday with his in-laws, Carole and Michael Middleton.
"Where it does get tricky, though, is those family occasions you mentioned, Sandringham, Easter at Windsor." Arbiter declared. "What do they do on those occasions? Because I think at the moment, anyway, if Harry and Meghan were going to Sandringham for Christmas, I don't think William [will attend]," she told me. "I think that's when they go, 'Oh, it's our turn to be with the Middletons this year,' because they're just not going to want to feed that narrative."
She continued: "Because if Harry and Meghan showed up, it won't be about Christmas. It'll be: 'Who did they walk with?' 'Who pulled the short straw?' 'What was everyone wearing?' 'What was the body language?' 'Who interacted with who?' Nobody wants that. That overshadows everything for everybody. So I think it's going to have to be a case-by-case basis, an event-by-event basis, with some very careful strategic planning behind the scenes."
