Getty
There are few events in the royal calendar that better demonstrate the difference between being a working royal and being famous simply because you were born royal than Remembrance weekend.
On November 8, Prince William will stand alongside King Charles at the Cenotaph and lay a wreath on behalf of the nation, while Princess Catherine joins senior members of The Firm for one of the monarchy’s most solemn annual duties.
And there may be no royal occasion that better illustrates what Prince Harry gave up.
Despite being the King’s younger son and a former soldier who served two tours in Afghanistan and founded the Invictus Games, Harry no longer has an official role.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle slip back into royal mode
The contrast is particularly striking because, only weeks ago, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle appeared remarkably comfortable slipping back into the rhythm of royal life.
In Nottingham on October 15, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex looked every inch the working royal couple, with a press pack trailing them during their walkabout.
“It’s great to be back,” Meghan told one member of the public, in a moment where it seemed easy to forget the couple had stepped away from royal duties six years earlier to start a new life on the other side of the world.
But if Harry, 42, and Meghan, 45, were hoping to recapture some of the magic of their royal heyday, the working members of The Firm were about to provide a brutal reminder of what they left behind.
Resplendent in a lemon silk Elie Saab gown and Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot tiara, the Princess of Wales swept into Windsor Castle beside Prince William on October 20 for the state banquet welcoming the Sultan of Oman.
Coming just five days after the Sussexes’ visit, the contrast was impossible to miss.
Prince Harry challenges the royal family’s rules
Since returning to the UK to start again, Harry’s actions have made it increasingly clear that he has little interest in accepting the neat “all in or all out” distinction laid down at the Sandringham Summit in 2020 by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
He recently admitted as much when he told Joe Marler that he still sees his job as being a “Prince of England”, while reports suggest Harry bristles at any distinction between himself and the relatives who remain on the royal payroll.
“’Working members of the royal family’ is a really lazy phrase. He hates it, she hates it,” a friend of Harry and Meghan’s told The Times.
“They are not ‘working’ for the institution, but they are members of the royal family, and they work.”
And therein lies the fascinating battle now playing out.
The Sussexes appear to be competing for power, relevance and popularity with the Prince and Princess of Wales.
It is a contest William and Catherine, both 44, never wanted to be in and, more importantly, one Harry and Meghan can never truly win.
Why the Prince and Princess of Wales hold the power
Being a working member of the royal family is about far more than knowing how to work a crowd, command a room or make the most of a glamorous photo opportunity.
Of course, championing charities and drawing attention to causes that might otherwise struggle to be recognised is an important part of the job, and something all four have shown they can do well.
But at its highest level, royal duty carries far greater weight.
As heir to the throne, William, with Catherine beside him, represents his country on the world stage, where ceremony, diplomacy and soft power are not optional extras. They are part of the job description.
Sometimes royal duty means putting your own work on pause to allow senior members of The Firm their moment.
Other times it means doing things you don’t particularly want to do: turning up, biting your tongue and putting crown and country ahead of personal grievance.
These are the things Harry and Meghan have never proved particularly good at.
Remembrance Sunday shows what Prince Harry gave up
The Sussexes may have created a court of their own, complete with crowds, cameras and global attention, but they cannot recreate the duty that gives royalty its real weight. And that is what we will see at the Cenotaph this weekend.
It is why, in any contest for power and popularity between the Sussexes and the Waleses, Harry and Meghan have never really stood a chance.
Popularity can rise and fall, headlines can be fought over and crowds will continue to gather for both couples.
But when Prince William lays his wreath at the Cenotaph this weekend, he won’t be there because he won a popularity contest against his brother. He’ll be there because he is the Prince of Wales and the next king.
And six years after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walked away, that remains the one kind of royal power they cannot reclaim.
Read more expert opinion and analysis in WHO’s The Royal Verdict with Kylie Walters here.
