Following a particularly whirlwind week on the royal beat, HELLO!'s Royal Editor Emily Nash sat down on A Right Royal Podcast to unpack the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's joint UK engagements, the truth behind their "half-in, half-out" stance, King Charles's constitutional visit to Cardiff, and Prince William and Catherine's new early years venture.
Scroll down to listen to the full podcast episode.
Harry & Meghan's UK return and the 'half-in, half-out' debate
Q: Harry and Meghan carried out engagements in Nottingham and London this week. Did this mark an official return to royal-style duties?
Emily Nash: "This felt like their relaunch, if you like. There's no two ways about it: half-in, half-out royals. They do seem to be doing exactly what they were told they couldn't do under the terms of the Sandringham Summit in 2020. And it felt a little bit like the last six years just never happened.
"It looked to all intents and purposes like a royal engagement. Technically it wasn't - they're not doing it on behalf of the institution. But it absolutely followed the format. It's really confused people because this is what they walked away from, what they said they didn't want to do anymore.
"The media were invited, 100%, to cover the engagements. That's the reason this was publicly announced. They were there to do their jobs, and clearly Harry and Meghan do want coverage. They want publicity; otherwise they wouldn't be inviting multiple members of the media, multiple outlets to come and see what's going on. These engagements are actually fairly recently organised in the last few weeks. We know that Harry and Meghan plan quarter by quarter, and there was a window in their diaries. I think they saw the opportunity to go out there and be very visible, and they have jumped on it."
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Q: How did the crowds react to the couple in Nottingham, and was there anything unusual about the setup?
Emily Nash: "There were about 150 people at the first stop, the Community Recording Studio. A lot of them were media, but there were lots of fans as well, and people in the city in particular feel warmly towards them because of this long-standing connection. It was definitely a safe place for them to go out there and know they would receive that kind of welcome."
Andrea Caamano: "Eleanor [Dye] was there, and at the second engagement, she did say to us that people from the charity, not related obviously to Harry and Meghan, did come out before they arrived and told the crowd, 'Make sure you cheer very loud when they come out, you can say Meghan, I love you.'"
Emily Nash: "That's quite unusual, I must say. I've never really seen that happen apart from perhaps if you have a group of schoolchildren who are told to make sure you sing nicely or something like that just before a member of the royal family arrives. So that in itself is interesting. I wonder if there were supporters of the charity who were waiting outside rather than fans per se."
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Meghan’s UK style & her stance on the Sandringham Summit
Q: Meghan was spotted wearing high-street British brands like Marks & Spencer. What is the strategy behind her style choices?
Emily Nash: "It kind of takes you back again to 2017 - that moment she launched herself into public life after the engagement, picking up brands like M&S and Strathberry and getting incredible attention for them.
"I think it's fascinating that she's wearing British brands again, because it goes back to the very beginning, when she was trying to follow the royal rules of sartorial diplomacy and looking like you're embracing British designers. It's probably going to be well received if she's back here and doing that, and she knows what she wears is endlessly discussed. It's again straight out of the royal rulebook."
Q: There has been criticism that Harry and Meghan are operating a 'half-in, half-out' royal role by stealth. How do they feel about these accusations?
Emily Nash: "We ran an exclusive story yesterday from somebody close to Harry and Meghan who told me - when I asked whether they were troubled by the accusation that they're trying to be half in and half out and trying to resume their royal status by stealth - that the answer was no. They are not troubled by this.
"I was told very clearly that they don't feel they're doing anything wrong because they never agreed to not be half in and half out in the first place. That is quite an extraordinary statement to make, especially just weeks after the King instructed the Lord Chamberlain to remind people they were private individuals rather than working royals, reiterating the terms of the Sandringham Summit from 2020.
"Buckingham Palace made it very clear in January 2020 that they'd been having these discussions with the Sussexes and they had agreed to step away. But this really flies in the face of what was discussed there. You can imagine if you're a senior working royal doing your duty day in, day out, you don't get to pick and choose which jobs you're doing. You don't get to decide you're going to go off and make a big commercial TV show one day and then pop back to the walkabouts and the adoration of the crowd on another day."
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King Charles in Wales & William and Catherine's secret joint outing
Q: King Charles opened the Welsh Parliament in Cardiff amid protests. How did his visit go?
Emily Nash: "It was a challenging arrival at the Senedd in Cardiff. There was a small but vocal protest outside made up of some locals, trade unionists, and a contingent from Republic. As he walked into the building, there were loud chants of 'not my King' and 'down with the crown'.
"But on the whole, the welcome was very warm. He was hugely welcomed by all parties within the Senedd. He's in his late 70s, he's not well, and having to go out and contend with people shouting at him in the street, and he really reminded me of his late mother - it was a real 'keep calm and carry on' moment - compartmentalise, get on with the job. He got up and addressed 96 Welsh Assembly members in Welsh and English. He was very impressive.
"The most touching moment was him actually meeting a survivor of the Aberfan disaster. The King spent time with a boy who was thrown from the window by his teacher just before the landslide descended at the age of six, and the day after the disaster met Prince Philip. There was an extraordinary photograph of Prince Philip looking very anguished, talking to a young Gareth Jones' family. He's 66 now. The King and Queen will see him again with Prince William as they mark 60 years since the disaster."
© Josh Shinner / Kensington Palace
Q: Prince William and Catherine stepped out together in Nansledan. What was behind their joint appearance?
Emily Nash: "Catherine joined William down in Nansledan. It's a Duchy of Cornwall project, and it's quite unusual for her to accompany him on these so-called 'Duchy days'. He does them very regularly - he wants to see the people whose lives he's impacting and is constantly pushing his project managers to do more.
"I thought it was very interesting that Catherine went with him. They have just announced a joint venture for the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Years, which is Catherine's baby, commissioning research into how nature-rich environments can benefit young children and babies. The Duchy is going to be supporting this, carrying out research within the Duchy where they have access to incredible natural surroundings. It's just a very different way of doing things - getting your message across quietly and understatedly."
Upcoming Royal Events
Q: What can royal watchers expect from the week ahead?
Emily Nash: "We've got another bumper week for royal watchers. We have the incoming state visit from the Sultan of Oman on Tuesday. There's going to be a lot of spectacle, pomp, and pageantry, as you can imagine, and we're obviously hoping for a tiara moment or two!
"And the following day, a very poignant return for the King and Queen and Prince William to Aberfan, where there will be some incredibly moving events taking place to commemorate 60 years since that tragedy."