Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are not in favour of the phrase ‘working members of the royal family’, and believe it is a ‘lazy’ definition, a friend of the couple has said.
Typically the term is used to describe royals who take on engagement on behalf of the monarchy. But Harry and Meghan, who carried out their first joint public engagements since returning to the UK in Nottingham last week, take exception to the definition because “they are members of the royal family and they work”.
A friend of the couple told the Sunday Times: “‘Working members of the royal family‘ is a really lazy phrase. He hates it, she hates it.
“They are not ‘working’ for the institution but they are members of the royal family and they work. Their days are built around their family life and their work. She’s running a business seven days a week.”
Harry and Meghan also unhappy being called ‘former royals’
The Sussexes also take objection to being described as “former royals”.
© Getty ImagesThe friend added: “Things like Nottingham aren’t done in the name of the institution or the crown, but Harry is the son of the King, he is still a member of the royal family, he’s just not a member of the institution. It’s misleading to call them ‘former royals’. It has an impact on how they’re perceived and the way people talk about them.”
The comments are likely to further escape tension between Harry and Meghan and the royal family.
The King – who has not seen the couple since their return to the UK in August – issued a letter in September to government departments, military officials and lord lieutenants, reiterating their status as non-working royals. It further stated that they should be treated as “private citizens with commercial and charitable interests”.
Crowds told to cheer for Harry and Meghan in Nottingham
It comes after HELLO’s royal correspondent Eleanor Dye revealed that fans were encouraged to cheer for Harry and Meghan when they stepped out in Nottingham.
HELLO!’s Royal Editor Emily Nash and Editorial Director Andrea Caamano discussed this decision on this week’s episode of A Right Royal Podcast.
© Getty ImagesEmily explained: “We know that they have a dedicated following, but people in the city (Nottingham) in particular feel warmly towards them because of this long-standing connection.
“I’m not sure that might have been the same in other parts of the country but as we’ve already discussed, I think it was definitely a safe place for them to go to and know they would receive that kind of welcome. But you observed a few things, didn’t you, that made you wonder how much, or some of it may have been set up?”
Andrea explained: “Well yes, our Online Royal Correspondent Eleanor Dye was there.
© Getty Images“At the second engagement she did say to us that people from the charity, not related obviously to Harry and Megan, did come out before they arrived and told the crowds, ‘Make sure you cheer very loudly when they come out’ and ‘You can say, Meghan, I love you’, which I thought is strange.
“But I wonder if the charity was maybe worried. They did see a a big crowd and you never know how the crowd is going to respond. So I wonder if they were warming them up before their arrival.”
Emily continued: “Yes, that’s quite unusual, I must say. I’ve never really seen that happen apart from perhaps if you have a group of school children who are told to stop fighting for example, or, ‘Make sure you sing nicely’ or something like that just before a member of the royal family arrives. So that in itself is interesting.”
