The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been told by King Charles that their move to the UK does not change their status within the Royal Family.
Two weeks after the family flew from California to Britain, they have been sent a letter setting out their position.
Buckingham Palace has taken the unusual step of releasing the letter, which came from the Lord Chamberlain.
It formally reminds Prince Harry and Meghan that they can’t use the styles His and Her Royal Highness, their charity is undertaken in a private capacity, and they are “private citizens” who have commercial interests.
It has been sent to government and military offices, and the Lord Lieutenants in all the British counties just in case they might get confused as the Sussexes start undertaking public engagements.
Harry and Meghan confirmed on August 19 that they were moving back to the UK and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, will be enrolled in a British school.
While Harry retains his position as fifth in line to the throne, and his children are sixth and seventh, they are still not working members of the Royal Family.
Harry has rejected the term “non-working Royal” and maintains that he was born into the family and still wants to dedicate his life to service – despite leaving the institution in 2020.
But the Lord Chamberlain has been firm in his rejection of any notion that the family’s move back to Harry’s country of birth signals a change in their status.
Lord Benyon wrote: “It is well known that in January 2020 the Duke and Duchess stepped down from undertaking representative duties on behalf of The Sovereign, and are no longer working Members of The Royal Family.
“This position, distinct from the State and Royal duties undertaken by the working Royal Family, and with the personal latitude it brings the couple in respect of financial independence and protection of their privacy as they would wish, will continue to be fully respected.”
The Lord Chamberlain is the most senior official in the Royal Household and oversees the conduct and business of the operation.
The letter reaffirms: “There is no change to the current status of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Their styles as His and Her Royal Highness remain in abeyance and are not used.
“The charitable work of the Duke and Duchess is a personal matter for them both and undertaken in their private capacity. In short, their position is akin to private citizens with commercial and charitable interests.”
One of the reasons why the late Queen Elizabeth ordered that Harry and Meghan could not be “half-in, half-out” royals was because of the potential conflict of interest with their business operations.
The Sussexes have signed commercial deals with Netflix and Spotify and for Harry’s memoir, Spare.
Meghan will also continue to run her lifestyle business, As Ever, while she is living in the UK.
An acting role in a Netflix series was one of the many reasons why the couple decided to relocate from California.
It is understood that senior palace staff decided to release the letter as they presume it would end up in the public domain at some point via a leak to the media.
The issue of security remains undecided and Harry is determined that his family should get some public protection during their time here.
The location of their house and of their children’s school has not been revealed.
The family still pay for their private security personnel but the Home Office committee, which is in charge of royal security, has decided the Sussexes should get the phone number of a police liaison officer and nothing more.
The Lord Chamberlain wrote that any operation security issues “should continue to be directed to the relevant Police authorities”.
Their Sussexes office, the letter says, “will continue to operate separately from the Royal Household”.
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