This is a huge deal for the palace, and so far the signs are that it is being mismanaged.
In the rarefied pages of Good morning! magazine this week, a “friend” of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was quoted, with impeccable timing, confirming that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not consider themselves bound by the Sandringham Agreement, the deal the late Queen made in January 2020 to let them leave the royal family (and the United Kingdom), because they never agreed to it in the first place.
“It doesn’t bother them. They never agreed that they wouldn’t be half involved,” the friend told the magazine. “This is what was decided and imposed. They live their lives and they can, because they are financially independent.”
Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, visit a community recording studio in Nottingham, Britain, October 15, 2026.
But the “half in, half out” model was what Queen Elizabeth II ruled out at Sandringham. This was in fact the central principle of “Megxit”: either you are a working royal, or you are not. This is the reason why Harry and Meghan left this country. And now the Sussexes’ position, six years later, is that none of that matters.
The statement – which, let’s be honest, was surely spoon-fed by their office – was spectacularly poorly received.
A friend of the late Queen, who is also close to the extended family, told the Royalist: “This is unforgivable. »
“The idea of the Queen being asked to sign a contract with a member of her family is absolutely disgusting, but it’s exactly what we expect from these two,” said another source, a former courtier loyal to King Charles, adding: “I’m appalled to hear this.”
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On January 18, 2020, the Queen released a statement saying that “together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward” and that the “deal” would allow Harry and Meghan to build a happy new life. The same day, Buckingham Palace’s statement said the couple were grateful for the support and understood they were being asked to step back from royal duties. The next evening, Harry said he had agreed to the arrangement.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, is pictured in Nottingham, Britain, October 15, 2026.
In other words, no one “forced” anything on anyone. Harry was sitting in Sandringham’s room. He negotiated. He finally agreed, and he said so the next day. I’m sure he and Meghan wanted a different outcome. But they agreed to the deal then, and just because they have now decided they don’t like it doesn’t mean it isn’t binding on them.
The daily mail reported that Harry and Meghan are now seen as “cosplaying to be royal” and the palace is angered. The Royalist’s sources agree: there is consternation, and among the “hawks”, who have pushed for much harsher sanctions against Harry, many “I told you so.”
Because what we saw during Harry and Meghan’s visit to Nottingham was two people behaving like full-fledged members of the royal family. The royalist asked people on the street if they considered Harry and Meghan to be full members of the royal family, and virtually everyone said yes. From Harry and Meghan’s point of view, that was the whole point of the exercise: to blur the lines. But this confusion is also the palace’s nightmare.
And yet, strangely, there was also, undoubtedly, the feeling that the engagement was acting as an audition for a return to the royal fold. “Look how well we do this. We let the royal rotation in. We allow the pool to be covered. We draw a crowd.”
This is a huge deal for the palace, and so far the signs are that it is being mismanaged. (The royal press kit should have been in Cardiff on Thursday, for example, where the king was inaugurating the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament. He was in Nottingham instead.) The strategy, to the extent that it exists, seems to be to stand back and hope it all goes away, perhaps in the hope that they leave at Christmas and don’t come back.
Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, leave after visiting a youth and community charity in Nottingham, Britain, October 15, 2026.
Which brings us to the central questions: why is this happening? Why are we allowing this to happen? Why didn’t Charles do anything to control, limit or restrict Harry and Meghan?
Here’s the answer: This happens because Charles supports him. He encouraged their return, as The Royalist has repeatedly reported and as no one at the palace has ever denied. His dream has always been a dream of unity, of a family whole again, of the return of Harry and Meghan to the royal family.
The clearest example is the royal website. Harry and Meghan are still there, with their own page!
King Charles during a reception at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland on January 19, 2026.
The King should have said from the start, publicly and in plain English, that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are not active members of the royal family and that their activities are just a distraction. He didn’t say anything. Harry and Meghan can and will do whatever they want. But the blame goes to Charles for allowing it to go this far.
A rival court is open for business, but the man who will have to live with it is not the one who allowed it. Rather, it is what is left to Prince William. This is incredibly unfair.
Want more royal gossip, scoops and scandals? Follow all of Tom Sykes’ reporting on The royalist on Substack or listen The royalist podcast on YouTube.
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