Prince William and Harry on collision course next week over fears Sussexes will steal spotlight from Ireland visit
PRINCES William and Harry are on a collision course next week over fears the Sussexes will steal the spotlight from the Cambridge’s official Ireland visit.
The Duke of Sussex and wife Meghan Markle will return to Britain in just a few days – their first time home since announcing they were quitting as royals and moving to Canada part-time.
A royal insider today revealed fears the Sussex’s whirlwind trip to the UK would steal the spotlight from Prince William and Kate Middleton’s hugely important Ireland visit.
And they said it was a “nightmare” for royal staff – pointing out the clash would never have happened before Megxit.
Next week’s events will see Meghan and Harry attend the Endeavour Fund Awards on March 5 in London while Prince William and Kate Middleton are in Ireland.
Although the engagements are hours apart, the flurry of excitement caused by a rare UK appearance for Harry and Meghan is likely to overshadow the final day of William and Kate’s tour.
A senior source told The Sun Online: “While William fully respects Harry’s right to come back whenever he wants – indeed he is glad that he is returning, however briefly – he wishes that it wasn’t at the same time as his Irish trip because he knows what will happen is that the spotlight as far as papers and TV are concerned will be fully on Harry and Meghan.
“He recognises that for the media this will be ‘the big story’.
“It’s not that he and Kate would be jealous of all that coverage – they’re simply not like that – but their tour of Ireland is an important one, and he would have hoped it would get due media prominence.”
It’s a nightmare as far as staff are concerned because there is no longer any control over Harry
Royal insider
Kate and William’s trip to Ireland will be the first tour carried out by any member of the Royal Family after Brexit.
And the source added: “This sort of diary error would simply not have happened in the days before Harry decided to bale out of royal life.
“That’s why members of the royal family have private secretaries – and a grid system, similar to the Government’s method – to ensure that coverage of important events doesn’t clash.
“It’s a nightmare as far as staff are concerned because there is no longer any control over Harry – he has nobody now working for him who has proper experience of the methods and protocol of the court system.
“Presumably he is now relying on some flash PR person more used to the American entertainment world, more Hollywood than Windsor, who is not going to respect the views of the rest of the royal family.”
WHIRLWIND RETURN
The Sussexes will conduct a string of six engagements over 11 days including Harry, 35, meeting with Jon Bon Jovi to promote the Invictus Games.
Although some unintentional crossovers have occurred in the past, royal author Katie Nicholl revealed clashes were typically avoided by courtiers to prevent “competition” between the Sussexes and Cambridges.
She said: “I think that’s why couriers can avoid diary clashes they will, because they’ll be keen to avoid any sense of competition between the couples.”
On Monday, Kensington Palace announced details of the trip to Ireland, saying: “Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will visit Ireland from Tuesday 3rd March to Thursday 5th March 2020.
“This visit is at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.”
An example of previous diary organisation was last year when the Cambridges toured Pakistan and the Sussexes headed to Africa on separate weeks.
But it is unclear if there will be more diary clashes in the future as the Sussexes last week confirmed they were shutting their Buckingham Palace offices from April 1.
In a lengthy statement, the couple confirmed they were “saddened” by the decision to close their offices, saying: “Based on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s desire to have a reduced role as members of The Royal Family, it was decided in January that their Institutional Office would have to be closed, given the primary funding mechanism for this official office at Buckingham Palace is from HRH The Prince of Wales.
“The Duke and Duchess shared this news with their team personally in January once they knew of the decision, and have worked closely with their staff to ensure a smooth transition for each of them.”
Following lengthy Buckingham Palace talks, the Queen and senior officials have ruled the couple cannot use the word ‘Royal’ in their new roles as they step back from royal duties to start a new life in Canada.
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As part of the Megxit deal, Harry must ditch his honorary military positions for at least 12 months.
They have been allowed to keep their HRH titles but have been forced to accept that they will not use them publicly as they tout for business around the globe.
The Sussexes have already agreed to repay the £2.4million of taxpayers’ money used to refurbish their Frogmore Cottage home in Windsor and are expected to pay a commercial rent for it of about £30,000 a month.
