King Charles III's sons, Princes William and Harry were reunited along with their wives Kate and Meghan as they met well-wishers.
Video / AP
OPINION:
James, Viscount Severn, might be about to become, ever so briefly, the most accidentally famous member of the royal family yet.
James, if you are not au fait with everyone who sits well into the double-digit depths of the line of succession, is the 14-year-old son of Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, making him the Queen's youngest grandchild.
Most people, his uncle the King possibly included, could not pick James out of a lineup of gently-bred boys who know their way around a polo mallet, but the teenager could be about to, for the second time in months, enjoy a starring guest role in the unceasing, unending Sussex saga.
See, back in June for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee service at St Paul's, young James got a plum front row seat alongside his parents, who are both working members of the royal family. That is unlike Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex who were instead unceremoniously relegated to the wilderness of the second row, smack bang behind the viscount.
And that's why a good portion of the photos taken of the Sussexes at the event featured poor James.
So, with the Queen set to be laid to rest next week, are we about to see the Sussexes consigned to oh-so-humiliating second-row status? Will they lumped in with the other royal cousins, quite literally put in their places? Should James be getting ready for his close-up all over again?
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex leave after a service of thanksgiving for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II at St Paul's Cathedral in London on June 3. Photo / AP
If the way the last few days are anything to go by, the Sussexes could be in for a very painful time indeed.
There was the private jet debacle, which saw Harry and William travel separately to Scotland in the race to be with the Queen during her final hours.
The elder Prince made it to Balmoral nearly 90 minutes before the world learnt of her passing, while the younger Prince did not, with Buckingham Palace choosing to release the sad news while Harry was still in the air.
Nearly four hours after William had gotten to Her Majesty's estate, Harry arrived, alone and looking particularly downcast.
Then came the events of the weekend, when Harry and Meghan unexpectedly joined William and his wife Kate, the new Princess of Wales, for a walkabout outside Windsor Castle. Seeing the four of them side by side was a remarkable scene and one which a scant week ago would have been unthinkable.
However, don't let the image of equality between the two couples, seen arriving together and peaceably greeting the crowds together, fool you. Someone, somewhere clearly wants the world to know whose call the Windsor outing was and who should get the credit for it here.
I'll give you one hint: it's the bloke who will one day have his face slapped all over the pound coin …
On Tuesday morning, two reports hit the UK press, which, and you will never believe this, paint William in the most flattering light imaginable, casting him as the magnanimous bigger man who touchingly reached out to Harry for the good of the monarchy.
Awww … isn't he great?
In The Times, Valentine Low wrote in detail about how it was William's decision to include his brother as he "did not feel right doing it without Harry".
"If there was any time to do the right thing, he thought, this was it," Low reports, and that the heir to the throne was motivated by not only "how his brother would feel about being excluded" but that he was also "upset by the focus on family tensions in the immediate aftermath of his grandmother's death".
(Funny how we are told the Prince of Wales was not "motivated" by the optics here and yet somehow so much of the royal's thinking has ended up on the pages of the UK's biggest newspapers …)
According to Low, after the 40-year-old made the call he "phoned Harry, who immediately agreed" with them having in fact spoken in the previous days. Then, "after the walkabout … William is said to have felt glad that he did it".
Meanwhile, in The Telegraph, there was a Camilla Tominey piece which told a similar story; that William had been left "dismayed" by the focus on the Sussex storm and that "agreeing that, above all, family should come first, Harry resolved to swallow his pride and allow his elder brother take the lead, even conceding to being driven by William in the back of a blacked-out Audi".
(The Daily Mail had a similar story too with Richard Kay reporting that it was a "bombshell" text message from William that got the ball rolling on the walkabout.)
What is interesting to look at here is not what we are being told but why? One brother comes out looking benevolent and mature and the other left to "swallow his pride".
For decades William and Harry might have been a two-for-one permanent double act (and then triple act when Kate came on the scene) but if anyone is labouring under the assumption that all the titled players here are on sort of equal footing, banish the thought.
On Friday night, King Charles III announced that he was making William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales, which was no less significant even if it was inevitable and they are one giant step closer to the throne.
Prince William, Kate, Princess of Wales, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, walk to greet the crowds after viewing the floral tributes for the Queen. Photo / AP
And Harry? As is the case with all royal second sons going back to when the ink on the Magna Carta was still wet, he gets exactly nothing with his father's accession – no new titles or weighty official responsibilities or valuable duchies.
The gap that exists between William and Harry's positions has only grown that much bigger over the last few days, something that these new details about walkabout and William only drives home further.
The Palace would seem to be keen on reminding everyone who is who in the gold-braided zoo, a situation that does not bode well for the Sussexes when it comes to the Queen's funeral.
So far the royal family has shown they intend to stick staunchly to protocol. Overnight on Tuesday it was revealed that only working members of the royal family will be allowed to wear military dress, meaning both Harry and Prince Andrew will be left in mourning suits.
For Prince Philip's funeral, it was decided that no-one who took part in the funeral procession would wear military kit, handily meaning that the demoted Harry and Andrew would not stick out like sore thumbs.
However this time around, the Palace is playing things by the rule book meaning that Charles and his siblings, along with William, and the Dukes of Gloucester and Kent, will all be done up their regimental finest and Harry and his uncle will be left horribly conspicuous in their sombre black get-ups.
It's hard to see how, for Harry who proudly served 10 years in the army, this would not be a truly painful moment.
Then, as with the Jubilee, there are the seating arrangements.
Prince Harry, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex walk to meet members of the public at Windsor Castle. Photo / AP
If the St Paul's service during the Jubilee serves as any indication, then Harry and Meghan could find themselves being sidelined. Again. Only this time, much of the world will be watching live.
Are Harry and Meghan about to come face-to-face with the consequences of their quitting and sulky exit stage left? Will we see the Waleses take their places in the front row while the Sussexes are left to stew in the Siberia of a row full of cousins?
Given the reported fuss that occurred in March 2020 when Harry and Meghan were left out of the official procession, unlike William and Kate, there would seem to be some sensitivity when it comes to these sorts of slights.
The Queen's funeral will be the biggest State event in nearly a century and therefore seriously protocol-heavy.
The Sussexes, having decided they did not want to stick with royal life, could be about to, as with the Jubilee, reap what they have sown. Having willingly made the decision to downgrade their status, from frontline members of the royal family to simply belonging to the vast pool of gummy Windsors, could be a particularly bitter pill to swallow.
It's not just his family they will have to contend with. Harry and Meghan were reportedly booed by some in the crowd outside St Paul's, which is pretty extraordinary. Could they face similar anger from the public?
Running underneath all this is Harry's memoir which has previously been reported to be coming out later this year. As one source explained to The Telegraph: "It's quite hard to spend too much time with someone you know is about to publish a tell-all book about you." Another was quoted as saying: "The general reaction to Harry and Meghan's behaviour has been one of incredulity."
Add all of this up – being possibly seated away from his father and brother, being denied the chance to wear his military uniform, the chance of them being jeered by the public, of them coming off second best in a PR war – and you have the ingredients for a grim situation for Harry and Meghan.
The Duchess is clearly a dab hand at smiling no matter the circumstances (the Commonwealth Service in 2020 anyone?) and projecting serenity but still, next Monday could be her personal Everest on this front. With a worldwide audience that could stretch into the billions, this may be the biggest role of her lifetime.
