Prince Harry announces first UK public engagement since return as Sussexes stay out of working royal life | Today’s news
Prince Harry is set to make his first series of UK public appearances since returning to Britain with Meghan Markle and their two children, as the Duke of Sussex continues his well-known program of charity work while remaining firmly outside the working royal family.
Prince Harry made his first appearance in Great Britain
Harry will attend three events this month, including the WellChild Awards, an event linked to his Invictus work and the launch of INSPIRE’s education initiative. He is then scheduled to travel to New York on September 22 for the Clinton Global Initiative’s annual meeting.
The appearance comes just weeks after the Sussexes returned to the UK from California. The family are understood to have arrived in Britain on August 26 and plan to set up a private home in the country while maintaining their Californian base. Their return attracted considerable attention as it brought Harry and Meghan closer to the royal family after years spent mostly in the United States.
However, this does not mean that they will resume their royal duties.
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Buckingham Palace has moved to make this distinction unusually clear. The letter, issued by the Lord Chamberlain on behalf of King Charles and circulated to senior government, military and other officials, said Harry and Meghan remain private citizens and are not working members of the royal family. Their HRH styles remain dormant and unused while their charitable activities are carried out in a private capacity.
Back in Britain, but not as working royals
Harry and Meghan effectively left senior royal life more than six years ago. In January 2020, they announced that they would be stepping down as senior members of the royal family and seeking a more independent life. Under an agreement agreed at the time, they ceased to carry out official royal duties, stopped using their HRH style and no longer formally represented Queen Elizabeth II. They subsequently moved to North America, first to Canada and then to California.
Thus, the couple were already operating outside the monarchy long before their final move back across the Atlantic. Their decision in 2021 not to return as working royals further resolved this position.
The latest palace letter effectively reiterates this arrangement and makes it clear that living in Britain does not change that. It also reflects an agreement reached at Sandringham in 2020 that ruled out a so-called “half-in, half-out” royal role that would have allowed the Sussexes to retain official duties while leading independent commercial and charitable lives.
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In this context, Harry’s upcoming appearances are presented as engagements related to his own charitable interests, rather than official royal duties. So the couple were already operating outside the monarchy long before their final move back across the Atlantic. Their decision in 2021 not to return as working royals further resolved this position.
The latest palace letter effectively reiterates this arrangement and makes it clear that living in Britain does not change that. It also reflects an agreement reached at Sandringham in 2020 that ruled out a so-called “half-in, half-out” royal role that would have allowed the Sussexes to retain official duties while leading independent commercial and charitable lives.
In this context, Harry’s upcoming appearances are presented as engagements related to his own charitable interests, rather than official royal duties.
List of events to be attended by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
His most significant appearance in the UK will be at the WellChild Awards in London on September 21. Harry has been a patron of the charity for 18 years and has attended the ceremony on 15 previous occasions. He will meet with the honorees and their families at a private reception before presenting the Inspirational Child Award for four to six-year-olds and giving a speech.
The ceremony will also mark the 20th anniversary of the WellChild nursing program, which helps children with serious and complex health needs receive care at home instead of staying in hospital.
Harry will also attend the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards in London and the launch of INSPIRE, an educational initiative linked to the Invictus movement. The Invictus Games Foundation described its new awards as a way of recognizing people and organizations that demonstrate resilience, service and a spirit of healing among wounded, injured and ill service members and veterans.
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His UK plan will be followed almost immediately by an international engagement. Harry is expected to fly to New York on September 22 for the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative.
Meanwhile, Meghan is expected to keep a significantly lower public profile. People familiar with the couple’s plans have suggested that their professional lives are increasingly separate, with Harry’s charity work requiring public appearances, while Meghan’s work is less known to the public.
This split may be more apparent now that the couple are back in Britain. Their return has brought them physically closer to the monarchy, but the palace’s latest intervention makes one thing clear: being close to the royal family does not mean returning to royal life.
