Is it a slap-down? Is it a mere clarification? Whatever the interpretation, the letter issued by Buckingham Palace underlining that Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex are not working royals is the result of the King firmly taking charge of the agenda where the Sussexes are concerned.

The guidance was sent out under King Charles’s instructions by his most senior official, the Lord Chamberlain. It was addressed to “senior stakeholders” in the Government, military and those who help organise royal events around the country, such as Lord Lieutenants.

Pointedly, the letter was also “shared” with Harry and Meghan themselves. Not a quiet word in your ear, not a private memo: no, this was a formal, blunt statement of fact sent to Harry on his father’s orders. Ouch!

They wanted to be private citizens and now they most definitely are. Furthermore, in case they needed reminding, the letter reinforces that they are not allowed to use their styles of His or Her Royal Highness. Not even a sneaky little HRH in the corner of an invitation or Instagram post. Double ouch!

It could all have been done discreetly, but Buckingham Palace has allowed this formal guidance to be made public. There is to be no doubt: the door clearly remains firmly closed to any ambition the Sussexes might have harboured to resume their lives as working royals. And the King is not going to be bounced into accepting any change in their status just because they have chosen to return to the UK.

Personally, I don’t think they do want to rejoin the firm. But the anonymous briefings drifting out of their new bolt hole – believed to be somewhere in the Cotswolds – about both of them picking up much of the charity work they did when they were working Royals have caused confusion.

Everyone expected Harry to throw himself into the preparations for the Invictus Games and the other charities he has supported, even during his years in California, but rumours are rife that Meghan, too, wants to pick up again with some of the organisations she championed when she was here. It was all beginning to look a little like déjà vu. Or, indeed, the “half in and half out” that the late Queen so adamantly opposed.

But the King and Buckingham Palace have now made it crystal clear to all and sundry that Harry and Meghan are not to be treated as working Royals – and the letter specifically mentions any events where public funds might be required. Interestingly, it says any questions about that should now be directed to Buckingham Palace. In recent times, all queries about the Sussexes have been batted away towards their own communications team. It seems obvious that Buckingham Palace is now showing its might and supremacy.

In seizing the agenda, the King’s hope must be that he can halt the speculation about Harry and Meghan, and pull the media and public focus back to the work that the Firm is doing as autumn engagements begin in earnest.

One thing is for sure: this is going to anger Harry, who will take it as a personal slight. And he will be particularly annoyed that this clarification of his status as a private citizen will do nothing to help his continuing demands for armed police protection. 

However, the fact remains that the Sussexes have – in everything but name – already achieved what they set out to do. They may be private citizens, but Harry is the King’s son and whether or not they are officially classified as “working” royals, they will be in demand from numerous charities and campaigns and yet remain free to earn a commercial income if they so choose. Half in and half out.