Former Conservative MP and novelist Louise Mensch said the couple’s camp had “no right to be notified” of the announcement in advance. She wrote on X: “Nobody wanted [Meghan’s] opinion on His Majesty’s sovereign decisions. Saying she was ‘surprised’ is a public protest against those decisions … The King will not tolerate competing press releases for long.”
Ms Mensch warned that repeated challenges to Charles’ authority could spur the monarch to take drastic action. “He can remove Harry’s status as a prince of the UK with the stroke of a pen, and I believe he would,” she said.
The Sussexes would have preferred Charles use the term “public figures” than “private citizens” in the statement, and wanted an acknowledgement that they remain members of the Royal Family, The Telegraph reports.
The signs of behind-the-scenes friction are likely to fuel speculation of growing tension between the Sussexes and the Royal Household, just two weeks after Harry and Meghan returned to the UK.
The King’s announcement was released ahead of a reported meeting of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec), which is responsible for making decisions about royal security, this week.
Harry is waiting to hear the conclusion of the Risk Management Board’s threat assessment and Ravec is expected to decide at the meeting as to whether the Sussex family should be entitled to taxpayer-funded security now they live in the UK.
The Sussexes stepped down as working royals in 2020 amid the Megxit crisis and moved to the US for a new life of personal and financial freedom.
But the couple has now moved back for an “extended period”, enrolling their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in British schools, amid rumours Meghan is to return to acting while based in the UK.
