The King's letter bans two words for Harry and Meghan — and they were told almost last
The Windsors have never met a family matter they couldn't handle via formal correspondence, and this week delivered a classic of the genre.
With Harry and Meghan freshly moved back to the UK with Archie and Lilibet, Buckingham Palace released a "letter of guidance" about what, exactly, everyone is supposed to call them.
The two forbidden words: Royal Highness. The letter — sent on the King's behalf by the Lord Chamberlain to government departments, the military, and Lord Lieutenants — confirms the styles "remain in abeyance and are not used," and files the couple under a category so chilly it deserves its own fascinator:
"In short, their position is akin to private citizens with commercial and charitable interests."
Private citizens. The King's son. Akin to a Rotary Club member with a podcast.
The timeline is the real story
Because here's where it gets deliciously petty. Per the reconstructed play-by-play, the Sussexes' team received the letter at 1:59pm. At 2:19pm they wrote back asking whether it had already gone out — hoping to brief Harry and Meghan before the press did, and to clarify a point or two. At 3:06pm it hit the media. At 3:11pm came the palace's confirmation that, oh, yes, it's out.
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So the actual subjects of the letter got roughly an hour's head start on the entire British press corps, and answers five minutes after publication. The couple's spokesperson kept it lethal and British, saying they were "a little surprised not to have been told about this in advance."
What actually changes
- Practically: nothing. The HRH styles have been on ice since 2020; this letter laminates the policy and mails it to everyone with a uniform or a title;
- Politically: quite a lot, since it lands the exact week the Sussexes resettle in Britain — less a memo, more a seating chart;
- Emotionally: the palace communicated with family members via a document released to the press. Which, for this family, might genuinely be the love language.
Nothing says "welcome home" like a formally distributed reminder of what you may not be called.
The charitable work, the letter notes, is a personal matter for the couple. The messaging strategy, evidently, is not.
Previously we wrote: Who plays Dumbledore in HBO's Harry Potter? The casting, and the actor's own words on why saying yes took time
