Getty
Dressed casually in a blue jumper and clutching a cricket bat, Prince William halted traffic on one of London’s most famous spaces on October 13, as he played a game at The Mall to promote The Earthshot Prize’s annual summit in November.
The solo outing for the heir to the British throne came just days after news broke that his estranged brother, Prince Harry, and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, would embark on their first joint engagement since arriving on British soil in late August.
It was revealed the Sussexes would step out for a royal-style jaunt in the UK city of Nottingham on October 15, with the duo visiting the Community Recording Studio to watch an acting workshop, before joining members of the Hubb Community Kitchen at the Himmah food bank – a cause for which Meghan has been a longtime supporter.
It marks a very public display of philanthropy for the couple – amid Meghan’s continuing devotion to cash-making through the sale of advent calendars and jam through her lifestyle brand As Ever.
Now sources tell Woman’s Day that William remains deeply unimpressed with the turn of events – which appears to fly in the face of the late Queen’s rejection of a “half-in, half-out” working model for the Sussexes.
“William knows as one of the world’s wealthiest landowners he shouldn’t begrudge his brother for earning a living, but it’s all so distasteful and something the British public are not used to,” says an insider.
“William doesn’t like that Harry and Meghan have come back to ‘make money’ and clearly have no intention of trying to mend bridges.”
Indeed, those bridges certainly won’t have been patched up by the revelation that Harry and Meghan’s Nottingham visit will coincide with King Charles and Queen Camilla’s appearance at the Ceremonial Opening of the Seventh Senedd, the Welsh Parliament, in Cardiff Bay on the same day.
“I imagine it is pure coincidence, but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to ruffle some feathers,” former royal butler Grant Harrold told GB News.
“I think the King will be extremely frustrated by it, as will his team.”
The royal insider added that the Palace will know that the chances of getting substantial media coverage for the King and Queen will have “all but disappeared” – with outlets “far more interested” in Harry and Meghan’s foray as a couple.
“As it’s their first joint engagement since being in the UK, it will be what everyone is talking about,” he added.
Certainly, Meghan appeared to be readying herself for the flash of paparazzi cameras as she enjoyed lunch with her trusted hairdresser in London the day before her big reveal.
Notably, she was wearing British-branded clothing for the occasion, including a black blazer by Marks & Spencer.
However, a source close to Meghan insists that public appearances like the Nottingham trip will be “relatively rare” as she has “different professional priorities” to her husband these days.
“Prince Harry’s priority is his philanthropic work and public service. Her focus is on her family and children, followed by her business, followed by rebooting her acting career,” the insider told The Telegraph.
“Her public appearances will be relatively rare. She is reading a lot of scripts at the moment.”
The insider isn’t the only one to leak details of an apparent influx of acting opportunities for the former Suits star.
In a recent interview with US broadcaster Megyn Kelly, Meghan’s former talent agent former Ari Emanuel spoke candidly of the Duchess’ “needs and desires”, as he confirmed he no longer works with her in his capacity as Executive Chairman of respected entertainment and media agency WME Group.
“She is finding her voice, I am happy for her. The great thing I hope, as a parent, of starting William Morris Endeavor is there’s people here that they can handle stuff and handle clients,” he told the broadcaster.
“And for me, I just had a lot on my plate … And it was better to let [others] deal with her and execute against her needs and her desires. And I’m happy that everybody’s doing it for me.”
The businessman went on to say he didn’t want the situation “occupying my brain”.
“And when I’m involved in somebody, constantly, when I wake up in the morning, clients occupy my brain, that’s what happens,” he shared.
“And I just didn’t want to do that any more. Having nothing about her, I just needed to move on to other things I was doing.”
He went on to divulge that there were “a bunch of things” that agents at WME were doing for the Duchess these days.
“So, that’s a good thing. I’m just not involved. I’m not involved,” he added.
“I think she’s actually getting booked and there’s reality stuff and TV stuff. They’re doing stuff. I don’t know about it.”
A friend of Meghan’s later scotched the claim that Meghan might be considering reality TV, insisting the Duchess was looking at “a lot of exciting scripted and non-scripted opportunities”.
