{"id":930044,"date":"2026-10-12T09:00:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T09:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/930044\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T09:00:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T09:00:17","slug":"stuff-of-royal-nightmares-harry-in-tears-as-he-and-meghan-make-huge-call","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/930044\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Stuff of royal nightmares\u2019: Harry \u2018in tears\u2019 as he and Meghan make huge call"},"content":{"rendered":"

It had to happen eventually. Less than two months after arriving back in the UK for an extended stay, Prince Harry<\/a> and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex<\/a>, will step out for their first joint public engagement.<\/p>\n

The couple \u2013 who initially lay low after arriving back on British soil \u2013 have made the huge call to amp up their public presence, after reportedly taking issue with King Charles\u2019<\/a> description of them as \u201cprivate citizens\u201d rather than \u201cpublic figures\u201d.<\/p>\n

While the duo had been quietly ratcheting up their visibility after getting their two children Prince Archie<\/a>, seven, and Princess Lilibet<\/a>, five, enrolled in a local school, a big public reveal is almost upon us.<\/p>\n

On October 15 the Sussexes will step out for a royal-style engagement in the UK city of Nottingham.<\/p>\n

\"PrincePrince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are set to step out for a royal-style engagement. (Credit: Getty)<\/p>\n

First the couple will visit the Community Recording Studio to watch an acting workshop, before joining members of the Hubb Community Kitchen at the Himmah food bank \u2013 a cause for which Meghan has longtime shown support.<\/p>\n

\u201cNottingham is a really special place for them,\u201d a friend told the Sunday Times, \u201cand they are looking forward to getting back out there into the community, together.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Indeed, Nottingham holds fond memories for both Harry and Meghan \u2013 it was where the duo first stepped out as an engaged couple back in December 2017.<\/p>\n

Writing on The Royalist substack, royal expert Tom Sykes suggested that Harry and Meghan\u2019s latest joint outing was a signal of intent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the King had the Lord Chamberlain remind everyone that the Sussexes are not working royals (indeed that they are \u2018akin\u2019 to private citizens), their office professed itself \u2018surprised\u2019 and let it be known that it would rather they were described as \u2026 public figures,\u201d the expert wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThursday is the phrase made flesh: a program of engagements for the faux king and queen, cameras flashing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is just one problem. The public, the people they seem to wish to be a figure to, have spent the past fortnight telling the Sussexes exactly what they think of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, the public perception of Prince Harry was laid bare at a rugby match he attended on October 9.<\/p>\n

The prince happily clutched a pint as he watched the Leicester Tigers play Gloucester. Except, there was a problem. As the camera panned to him in the crowd on one occasion, boos rang out.<\/p>\n

\"PrincePrince Harry was booed during an appearance at the rugby. (Credit: Getty)<\/p>\n

It was a reception that didn\u2019t go unnoticed by commentator Nick Mullins, who commented, \u201cSome boos there\u201d in his coverage, before moving swiftly on.<\/p>\n

Sykes, meanwhile, declared that Harry would have found the reaction \u201cpainful\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoos are the stuff of royal nightmares,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the tabloids attack him, Harry can take them to court. When the Palace sends a chilly letter, he can blame the men in grey suits. The entire Sussex story depends on the idea that the press and the courtiers are the problem, and that the British people, deep down, are still on his side.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe boos at Welford Road were the verdict of the people. This isn\u2019t a media conspiracy. This isn\u2019t the press. It mirrored a moment just under a year ago, when Harry and Meghan were booed at Dodger Stadium when their faces flashed up on the big screen. He has now been booed in the stands of his adopted home and in the stands of his real one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Entertainment journalist Rob Shuter echoed Sykes\u2019 thoughts on his Naughty But Nice substack explaining that upon learning of the reaction, Harry\u2019s humiliation \u201cbrought him to tears\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHarry didn\u2019t hear the boos. He was enjoying the match and genuinely believed everyone was happy to see him,\u201d a source told the outlet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t until afterward that the reality hit. He was absolutely crushed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PrinceBack in 2017 when Harry and Meghan visited Nottingham, they were given a rapturous reception. (Credit: Getty)<\/p>\n

While Harry was reportedly upset at how his latest public foray was received, sources previously told Woman\u2019s Day that Meghan is hoping a recent change in tack will pay dividends for her own public image.<\/p>\n

\u201cMeghan was advised a while ago to be less accessible because it creates more interest so that\u2019s the strategy she\u2019s leaning into,\u201d the insider shared, explaining that previously Meghan had been \u201cdeliberately biding her time and staying out of sight intentionally\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen she does start stepping out more, the hope is that she\u2019ll have built up enough anticipation that people will be excited to see her, rather than having her everywhere right away and the public getting sick of her,\u201d the source added.<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s one person that Meghan is reportedly hoping to emulate: Kate, Princess of Wales.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cMeghan knows she and Kate are always going to be compared and she wants to prove she can make just as much of an impact, if not more,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Profile\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProfile
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tKatherine Davison\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Katherine is an experienced writer and editor who has spent more than two decades working with some of the best-known media outlets in Australia and the UK. Before becoming a freelance contributor for Woman’s Day, Katherine was Editor of trusted Australian entertainment title WHO, and she is the former Managing Editor of Lifestyle, Entertainment and Commercial for 7NEWS.com.au. She has a wide interest in topics spanning celebrity, lifestyle, shopping, travel, real life and more – and when she\u2019s not researching her next story or crafting a compelling headline you\u2019ll likely find her cycling around Sydney with her beloved dog, Pickle, in a backpack.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It had to happen eventually. Less than two months after arriving back in the UK for an extended…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":930045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[49,48,75],"class_list":["post-930044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=930044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/930045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=930044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=930044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=930044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}