Prince Harry ‘never intends to upstage William or Charles’ – as he and Meghan plan one more public event before Christmas
Prince Harry does not wish to upstage King Charles and Prince William upon his and Meghan’s return to Britain, sources say.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been ‘mindful’ not to schedule public events while the King kicks off his Caribbean tour, though they have at least one appearance planned before the end of the year, it has been said.
It is understood the couple will be focusing on spending time with their children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, during half term.
Typically, the Royal Family actively avoid scheduling overlapping commitments. A calendar, known as ‘the grid’, is meticulously planned to space out public appearances.
After spending six years living in the US, Harry and Meghan returned to the UK in August as private citizens and cannot carry out engagements on behalf of the Royal Family.
Earlier this month they appeared together at a number of charity events in Nottingham, including at a community food project established in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
Nottingham is the city where the couple went for their very first royal walkabout together in 2017.
That same day King Charles delivered a speech at the ceremonial opening of the Senedd in Cardiff, which the Queen also attended.
Prince Harry, pictured with Meghan on their visit to Nottingham, does not wish to upstage King Charles and Prince William upon he and Meghan’s return to Britain as ‘private citizens’
Prince William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales depart after a tour at The Commons during their visit to Northern Ireland on October 9
When senior royals welcomed the Sultan of Oman for a state visit at Windsor Castle last week, an on-camera interview with Harry was published on the same day.
A spokesman for the Sussexes said the interview was filmed in September and it was not their decision to publish it on that day.
A source close to the Sussexes told The Times: ‘Harry doesn’t set out with an intention to try to pull focus or draw attention away from what his father is doing or what his brother is doing.
‘That’s never his intention at all but obviously for him to be able to mitigate against that he does need to have decent foresight of what’s coming up … He definitely will take it into account.’
The source added: ‘Obviously with the King going to CHOGM and the Prince and Princess of Wales going to India, he knows about those things and he is obviously mindful of that as he’s planning his own activities as well.’
It is understood that the Sussexes are not always privy to the schedule of the Royal Family and withdrawing from the Nottingham events would have been disappointing for the charities.
Despite becoming increasingly active in the UK, including through a number of visits to London, the couple have yet to meet King Charles and remain estranged from the Prince and Princess of Wales.
One source previously claimed the Sussexes have taken their Christmas plans into their own hands because they ‘know they’re not invited’ to Sandringham.
It would be ‘too difficult and awkward’ to spend Christmas with the Royal Family, a friend said.
