Harry and Meghan want back in. William is building a machine to keep them out

It was Lord Chamberlain’s letter that stirred up a fresh Royal Family storm. And as soon as it landed, the scale of the mismatch between the expectations of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the core Royal Family about the terms of their return to the UK were on full display. This has been a big week for the couple, settling into a discreet north Oxfordshire farmhouse, their two children safely ensconced in a prep school favoured by the discerning wealthy. Pretty much everyone who knows this Cotswolds set knows the details – but the Sussexes have been adamant that they seek privacy for their stay – however long it lasts. Trouble has been stirring since the start of the month over how closely they can portray themselves as associated with the “core” Royal Family, and the answer from one of the most senior members of the Royal Household, delivered in a letter released publicly, was – not at all. The couple announced that they were “surprised” (which is VIP-speak for absolutely furious) that a communication sent to government departments and the military on behalf of King Charles reiterated the couple’s status as non-working royals – information which could have been relayed privately. And in a sign of a vanishingly low trust threshold, it is believed it was released to the media only about an hour after they received it themselves, which headed off any chance to voice disagreement. Harry and Meghan’s team talked about their desire to “clarify” aspects of the content. As far as Team Charles was concerned, the clarification was in plain sight. On record now in black and white is that their position is “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”. In other words, the Sussexes are on their own and in royal eyes, about as privileged as you or me. And the kicker line is that this is what they wanted when they opted for Megxit, complaining about the pressures of being a royal. Now the sudden reappearance in the UK of the Sussexes has also irked Prince of Wales, who has been watchful of the effect of his brother’s return from the start. Tensions rose abruptly with the suggestion, attributed to Harry, that he might undertake some form of brief visit to the hyper-sensitive territory of Royal Norfolk, the areas around King’s Lynn and the Sandringham estate. This may have been possibly connected with his desire to reconnect with UK charitable endeavours – but whatever the thinking, William was unhappy and nothing has gone ahead. It brings to light the lack of clarity around the couple’s return arrangements – what is their security expectation and what happens if they would like to go somewhere that does not fit other senior royals’ wishes or clashes with their presence? That has always been the Prince of Wales’ concern – to avoid any return of a “clash of royal brothers” in front of the ogling public. He regarded Harry’s return as high risk – and the position shown in the letter reflects a view shared by Charles and William that the couple need strict guard-rails. Family rapprochement looks like a distant second concern. Harry and Meghan, by contrast, have hoped for some acknowledgement of their public role and in a word of fairness to Meghan, she has been keen on senior charity roles. From her point of view, not being deployed is frustrating. But the terms of any public position will now be officially arms length from the royals. The other layer of the palace intrigue which plays into all this is that William is quietly building a highly professional team to guide his transition as heir. Liza Ravenscroft joined from the Edelman PR giant as a “crisis comms” expert (a result of recognition that adversities like the ousting of Prince Andrew could cause sudden problems traditional structures were not equipped for). He also hired Tom White, a Lieutenant Colonel who worked with Queen Elizabeth, as Catherine’s private secretary and and Lee Thompson, an alum of the Freuds communications dynasty and US television, to work on their international resonance and longer-term strategy. That means that Harry and Meghan, relying on the PR folk who looked after a different incarnation in the US, left the duo under-armed in the public relations battle. That is a point which will not be lost on Meghan, who understands the game of public perception well. Right now, the pair have the dream country home and the school-run through the countryside. But what the Sussexes want in Britain is a role and recognition – and a lot of people with grand palace titles are out to stop that happening. Anne McElvoy is executive editor at Politico and co-host of Politics at Sam and Anne’s podcast