Prince Harry noticed a door left open as King Charles’ right-hand man was getting ready to depart the castle. Sir Clive Alderton has stated that he is leaving his position as main private secretary after 20 years of service with The King and Queen Camilla. His tenure will continue until May 2027, when he turns sixty.
“It has been the greatest imaginable honour to serve the King and Queen in my present role through such historic times and with unforgettable humour along the way,” Alderton wrote in a statement to the royal staff announcing his resignation. For the rest of my life, that support will be provided in a less official manner.”
In his 2023 memoir Spare, Harry claimed that three royal employees were plotting against him, with many believing Alderton to be the employee he called “the Wasp.” After praising “The Wasp’s” “charming” and “jazzy energy” in Spare, Prince Harry turned the tables and called him “arrogant.”
Harry stated, “He was great at pretending to be polite, even servile.” “I think the sun rises in the mornings,” you would say, and he would stutter, “Well, heh-heh, I don’t know about that, Your Royal Highness, you see, it all depends what you mean by mornings, sir,” raising the possibility that you had been misinformed.
“You might be tempted to push back, insist on your point, and that’s when he’d put you on his list,” Harry continued, calling “the Wasp” “weedy” and “so self-effacing.” He would suddenly stab you with his enormous stinger a short while later, causing you to cry in bewilderment.”Where the f— did that originate?”
Alderton’s resignation might have an impact not just on the Duke of Sussex’s chances of regaining police protection in his native country, but also on King Charles’ relationship with his estranged son. The secretary is a member of RAVEC, a group that decides formal protective security for public individuals in the United Kingdom. Alderton’s successor will also assume his place on the board, thus Harry’s request will be handled by someone else.
Prince Harry is in for a surprise if he believes he can just go back in time to 2020 and rejoin the Royal family. According to sources, after visiting the UK in July with his wife Meghan Markle and kids Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, Harry, 41, has received encouragement about his future connection with the Royal Family.
The trip was crucial for Harry because he wants to convince the Royal Family to finalise a fresh draft of the “half-in-half-out/commercially-working royal” arrangement that the late Queen Elizabeth II rejected in 2020. Megxit and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex sought retribution for the deal’s rejection by openly disparaging their own relatives in books and TV appearances—all for financial gain.
Following extensive negotiations on both sides, King Charles and Queen Camilla had a private meeting with Harry and his family at Highgrove last month. They were assured that the Sussexes would not take advantage of the visit.
Harry believes he will finally get what he wants, which is to work as a royal in the UK and earn money based on his status overseas, thanks to an impending staffing change.
It has recently come to light that Sir Clive Alderton, the long-time senior private secretary of King Charles and Queen Camilla, will eventually step down in May 2027.
According to reports, Sir Clive was portrayed in his memoir Spare as “The Wasp”—a “charming,” “weedy,” and “arrogant” courtier who might put you on his hit list if you ever offended him.
Harry may be mistaken, though, if he believes that a full-fledged reunion with his father King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, and Princess Catherine is impossible due to Sir Clive’s retirement next year.
Royal insider Kinsey Schofield put it bluntly: “Harry may welcome Sir Clive’s retirement personally, especially after portraying him so negatively in ‘Spare,’ but if Harry believes one retirement suddenly clears the path back into the Royal Family, I think he’ll be disappointed.”
Rather, Schofield listed four crucial actions Harry needs to take in order to regain the respect and confidence of the Royal Family.
“It starts with rebuilding credibility,” she stated. Only Harry is capable of doing that, and it requires patience, perseverance, and prudence.
Does Harry have patience? After his embarrassing late-night talk show acts in the US, can he regain credibility?
Are he and Meghan going to be reliable? Given that they have fired dozens of employees over the past few years, Meghan has undoubtedly developed a poor reputation for being erratic.
Above all, can they even be discreet? By making fun of private chats on television or even releasing them in their entirety in Harry’s memoir Spare, they have made money off of them.
Given the Sussexes’ frantic need and desire to make dosh, how can the Royal Family trust a pair when any communication could subsequently appear in print or on social media for financial gain?
Although these four stages seem straightforward, they could be challenging to follow.