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Smartly dressed in his blazer and tie, and with his parents Prince William and Kate, Princess of Wales, by his side, young Prince George arrived at Eton for his first day at senior school on September 8.
The 13-year-old future King didn’t let the rain lessen his spirits as he smiled for the cameras assembled to capture history in the making.
But behind the scenes, insiders say spirits were indeed dampened – after George’s big day was overshadowed by more drama involving his estranged aunt and uncle – Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
The Sussexes and their children – Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, have reportedly set up home in The Cotswolds as they start a new chapter in the UK.
But just weeks after their arrival – and hours before Prince George started school – a new furore broke out over a letter King Charles penned to “senior stakeholders” in the UK about Harry and Meghan.
After requests for clarification, the letter confirmed that there was “no change” to the couple’s status, and that they are not to use the titles His and Her Royal Highness.
“The charitable work of the Duke and Duchess is a personal matter for them both and undertaken in their private capacity,” the King wrote. “In short, their position is akin to private citizens with commercial and charitable interests.”
A spokesperson for Harry and Megan subsequently hit out, to say the publication of the letter had caught them off guard.
“We were a little surprised not to have been told about this in advance,” the spokesperson said.
Palace sources, however, told Daily Mail that the couple had received the letter before its public release, but were not consulted on what it contained.
The Sun reported that the Sussexes took issue with the term “private citizens” being used to describe them. They would have preferred to be called “public figures”.
Now, a source tells New Idea that the turn of events left Kate feeling “embarrassed” and her husband feeling absolved, even as it threatens to overshadow what was meant to be a significant family moment.
“The last thing anyone needed was a Royal spat to break out on poor George’s first day at Eton and William and Kate did their ever-loving best to keep him oblivious to it,” the insider shares.
“Of course it was inflamed by Harry and Meghan’s reaction and Kate’s at the point where she now half-expects something from the Sussexes to try and overshadow her and William’s plans, even their own son’s.”
The source claims that there is a feeling that Harry and Meghan’s public reaction to Charles’ letter “turned a basic clarification into another display of ‘hurt feelings’”.
“Kate’s embarrassed for [Harry and Meghan], but she and William feel like a weight’s been lifted after the King’s statement,” the insider goes on.
The source said that senior royals had been “agitated” about how the turn of events had “overshadowed such an important day in a future King’s life”.
“Kate and William don’t like to think about Meghan and Harry stealing headlines on George’s big day, but there’s now a level of expectation and resignation,” the insider goes on.
“This is something William’s been warning about all along – but this time it’s convinced even the most skeptical in the Palace that Harry and Meghan can be loose cannons.”
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