As King Charles does his duty in Italy, Prince Harry was back in court and Meghan was launching a podcast

Meanwhile, in London, the Duke of Sussex arrived at court.

With a brief wave, suited and booted, he walked into the Court of Appeal to hear arguments from his legal team about how His Majesty’s Government and the palace alike had failed to protect his family sufficiently.

Father and son had not seen each other ahead of the hearing, despite the Duke landing in the UK on Sunday, and there are no signs of them planning to do so once the King is home.

The working King and Queen were on diplomatic duty; the Duke of Sussex hearing debates about his security aired in the court – which works under His Majesty’s name with lawyers holding the title “King’s Counsel”.

If that was not enough, the Duchess, at home in the US, topped it off with the launch of her new podcast on the same morning.

At one time, little irritated the palace more than a clash of diaries: one member of the Royal family overshadowing another on an important day.

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Particularly overseas, where hundreds of people pour hours into perfecting a tour itinerary to suit hosts and guests alike, it was seen as the poorest form to steal the spotlight from a senior member of the Firm – blowing carefully planned photographs and news reports off newspaper pages and off air for newer, more gossipy drama.

When it comes to the Sussexes, that ship has sailed.

This time, palace aides were aware of the clash, but none felt moved to complain about it, less still alter the tour programme.

In some quarters, it is seen as nearly inevitable – an eye-roll rather than any real objection; irritation rather than anger.

Five years after the Sussexes left the working Royal family, it is telling that this is the only apparent way their lives overlap.

The Duke, for clarity, did not choose the date of his court hearing. He did choose to fly over to London from the US, despite not technically being required to contribute, in what has been interpreted as a sign of how much the outcome of the case means to him.

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The Duchess’s podcast has been scheduled for release on April 8 for weeks.

As the Court of Appeal heard arguments that the Sussexes “felt forced to step back” from their royal roles because they “were not being protected by the institution”, the King and Queen kept calm and carried on.

After all, it is far from the first time that Sussex-related activities have threatened to knock the Royal family off course.

In Rome, the King and Queen enjoyed a morning with the president and his daughter, and walked arm-in-arm as they laid a wreath at the spectacular Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

They took some downtime for lunch – unusual for a King who likes to cram 10 or so engagements into a regular tour day, and a rare concession to his recent illness.

In the evening, the King and Queen were back at Villa Wolkonsky, the British ambassador’s residence, where they joined members of the British-Italian community for canapés and conversation about all they had seen and done.

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The coming days will see the King deliver speeches in the Italian Parliament – a rare honour – and a state banquet at which he will no doubt speak of the mutual love of the arts, food, fashion and culture in the language of his host nation.

Prince Harry has one more day in court. Meghan has seven more podcast episodes, which will air in the weeks to come.

The King and Queen have two more days on Italian soil, ploughing their way through the programme as planned.

Only then, when a British government plane flies them home, will they have a moment to sit back and assess the success of the trip.

Whether they have a claim to “Veni, vidi, vici” remains to be seen, but the activities of the Sussexes will have little bearing on it either way.

© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2025