Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Show Prince William 1 Courtesy Amid Rift, According to a Royal Biographer

They might be at odds, but Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s rift with the British royal family and Prince William , in particular, isn’t entirely devoid of kindness. According to a biographer, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex try not to “overlap” with the Prince of Wales on scheduling.

Harry and Meghan don’t want projects to ‘overlap’ with William’s

Speaking to The Sun ’s Fabulous magazine, royal author Phil Dampier claimed while Harry and Meghan have set up a “rival court” in the U.K., they’re also making sure their projects don’t “overlap” with William.

“Now that they [have] set up as this kind of rival court,” he said, “they will obviously hope that things they do not overlap with what William’s doing.”

As for what they have coming up, Dampier highlighted big events for William and Harry. “He’s [William’s] got events with the Earthshot Prize that he’s involved in in South Africa later in the year. And Harry, of course, has got his Invictus Games.”

“So as long as they don’t directly clash in terms of dates, and try and score points off each other, and they’re not directly competing in the same field, I think they can carry on,” he said.

The author also called it “tragic William and his wife, Kate Middleton , along with Harry and Meghan, are doing their “own thing.” The Sussexes, he said, were they still working royals, could’ve helped with official engagements after King Charles III and the Princess of Wales announced they’d been diagnosed with cancer in February and March, respectively.

He added it might be some time before William and Kate’s two oldest children, 11-year-old Prince George and 9-year-old Princess Charlotte, do official engagements. That means the the king’s slimmed-down monarchy will continue—at least for now—to get by with fewer royals.

When Harry and Meghan have to be careful not to ‘overlap’ with William and Kate, and vice versa

There are some big events coming up for the Wales camp and the Sussex camp. William’s Earthshot Prize ceremony will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, in November 2024. Specific dates have yet to be announced, which could prove tricky for Harry and Meghan.

The California-based royals have an official trip to Colombia scheduled before the first Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, set for Nov. 7- 8, 2024.

“It does rather look sometimes as if they’re kind of setting up almost like an alternative royal court,” Dampier said of Harry and Meghan. “And they’re trying to be royal, while of course, they’re not actually representing the royal family.”

August may have unofficially become their month, so to speak. Why? Because royals are typically at Balmoral to close out the summer so less risk of “overlap.” During that time, Harry and Meghan “pop up ,” according to a commentator, as they’ve done every August since 2020.

Making sure their events don’t happen at the same time as Kate hasn’t been an issue for Harry and Meghan. At least not this year. The 42-year-old’s spent the year on a break from royal duties as she continues cancer treatment.

Kate’s calendar has been almost entirely void of public appearances. To date, she’s made two public appearances, not counting the March 2024 video in which she announced her diagnosis.

Kate joined William and their three children at Trooping the Colour in June. A month later, she handed out trophies at Wimbledon—a staple on her summer calendar. Since then, some have predicted she won’t step out publicly again for a while.

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Meghan Markle’s already been accused of overshadowing the royal family this summer

Following speculation Meghan might try to overshadow Trooping the Colour —Kate’s first public appearance of 2024—reports emerged she did just that. On the same day as the king’s annual birthday parade, Harry’s close friend, Nacho Figueras, shouted out American Riviera Orchard (ARO), Meghan’s new lifestyle brand.

Figueras shared a snap of ARO dog biscuits and jam on social media the brand reportedly sent him. The timing became the subject of debate and prompted the question: Was it intentional or simply a coincidence?