No ‘part time royal’ role for Prince Harry, says King
The King has made it “absolutely clear” that the Duke of Sussex cannot be “half in, half out” of his duties as a Royal in a meeting with his son earlier this month.
Listen to this article
The news follows the meeting of the King and Prince Harry at Clarence house earlier this month.
According to reports, the two will continue to meet privately on an occasional basis, with the duke moving on from his previous high-profile criticisms of the monarchy.
The 41-year-old prince will not be permitted to join the Royal family in any official public role.
The decision follows Queen Elizabeth’s wish that members of the Royal Family do not undertake official duties whilst also earning money.
Read more: Trump praises 'wonderful' King Charles and describes UK state visit as a 'lovely trip'
According to reports from The Telegraph, a source close to the Royal family said: “The King has been absolutely clear in upholding his late mother’s decision that there can be no ‘half-in, half-out’ public role for members of the Family.”
The duke is believed to want to increase his number of public appearances in the UK to around four or five visits a year, according to reports.
The news follows a four-day visit earlier this month focused on visiting charity organisations, with the trip likened to much of the duke’s past Royal work.
It is known that Prince Harry hopes his father will attend the 2027 Invictus Games, hosted in Birmingham.
It has been five years since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they were taking a “step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family” back in 2020, deciding to split their time between the US and UK.
However, since the announcement, the pair have been central in various notable criticisms of the British Royal Family, including an exclusive interview with Oprah Winfrey and a Netflix documentary in which they criticised the Royals.
His two children - Archie, six, and Lillibet, four - are based in the US, where he lives with his wife, actress Meghan Markle.
In September, Prince Harry and the King met for less than an hour at Clarence House. In an interview with the Guardian shortly after, the Duke said that in the upcoming year “the focus really has to be on my dad”.
The pair last appeared at a formal public engagement together in April 2019, although have appeared at the same family events since then, including Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.