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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s return to the United Kingdom in August has had some interesting side effects. While the duo kept a lower profile in Montecito, their life in Britain is proving to be much more public-facing. One critic thinks their sudden interest in public life has a nefarious motivation. GB News presenter Alex Armstrong has accused the Duke and Duchess of Sussex of staging “fake royal engagements” in an attempt to steal the spotlight from other royals.

Alex Armstrong calls out the Duke and Duchess of Sussex over a recent outing

Armstrong has been busy tracking Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s public life since their U.K. return, and he doesn’t like what he sees. In remarks on the Daily Expresso podcast, reported on Nov. 6, Armstrong suggested Meghan and the prince are trying to pull attention from the royals, and he pointed directly to the couple’s recent charity trip to Nottingham as proof.

The visits were the couple’s first joint public appearance since their move back to Britain, and they happened on the same day King Charles and Queen Camilla opened the Seventh Senedd in Cardiff. Armstrong argued the timing was no accident. “When the King was in the Senedd, opening Parliament, Harry had to do something,” he said. “They are always trying to overshadow a royal event.”

He also questioned why the couple keeps making high-profile appearances after stepping away from royal duties. “It seems like they’re trying to do these fake royal engagements—for what?” he asked.

Armstrong’s claim that the timing was deliberate is his own interpretation, and he did not cite evidence that the Sussexes planned their visits around the King’s schedule. Neither Harry nor Meghan has responded to his comments.

What the palace says

While Armstrong’s gripe doesn’t appear to be backed by evidence, it does speak to a larger question about the couple’s status in the royal family. Lord Chamberlain Richard Benyon has confirmed that Harry and Meghan remain non-working members of the royal family and that their charitable activities are conducted privately rather than as official royal engagements.

Harry and Meghan stepped back from their roles as working royals in 2020 amid intense media scrutiny. They left the United Kingdom, spending time in Canada before settling in the United States. They lived in California, where Meghan was raised, until this summer. The announcement of their decision to return to the United Kingdom surprised many royal watchers, but the move hasn’t changed their royal status. Still, they are maintaining a charitable schedule. According to Newsweek, the couple plans to continue visiting charities they supported as working royals, likely with media coverage.

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