Last week, King Charles had his weekly meeting with Prime Minister Liz Truss. Truss is currently taking the UK down in a blaze of glory – I’ve never seen a world leader create so much havoc in their first month on the job, it’s astonishing. While that is definitely a story – as is the fact that Charles greeted Truss with “dear, oh dear” – too many people focused on the fact that Charles had a somewhat notable photo in the background:

Last week, King Charles took his first weekly audience with Prime Minister Liz Truss at the palace. In a short video of their greeting, released on Twitter, viewers can see several photos of the family displayed around the meeting room. Among them is a photo from Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan’s wedding.

The image was taken by photographer Alexi Lubomirski at Windsor Castle following the Sussexes’ wedding ceremony at St. George’s Chapel on May 19, 2018. It shows Harry and Meghan surrounded by members of their family and bridal party—including the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. The now King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, and Princess Kate are also in the photo, as are Kate and William’s children, boys and girls from Harry and Meghan’s bridal party, and Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland.

[From Harper’s Bazaar]

You might say, okay, big whoop. Yes, these people all “speak” in these completely bizarre codes instead of communicating with one another directly and openly, but is it really that weird to think that Charles would display a photo of the Sussexes? Then something weird happened – Queen Camilla did a photo shoot with Chris Jackson and she also made sure to display a photo of the Sussexes in her background.

Queen Consort Camilla made a sweet nod to the royal family in an official picture shared at the weekend. King Charles’ wife, 75, was photographed in the Morning Room at Clarence House, on the 64th anniversary of the publication of the first Paddington bear book with several of the Paddington Bear toys left by royal fans in tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth following the announcement of the Monarch’s death on September 8.

It was revealed yesterday that the soft toys will be given ‘good homes,’ just like the ‘real’ Paddington Bear, and are to be donated to vulnerable children supported by the Barnardo’s charity.

After the release of the picture, eagle-eyed fans noted that the Queen Consort had surrounded herself with pictures of the late Queen and the royal family. One snap showed the Queen Consort, the King, with the Prince and Princess of Wales, their three children and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the occasion of Prince Louis’ christening in 2019.

[From The Daily Mail]

Two major photo-ops featuring photos of Harry and Meghan, both done within a week? Charles and Camilla are both sending a coded message to and about the Sussexes, and to the press. This is honestly Charles wanting to have it both ways though – he wants the freedom to brief against the Sussexes and threaten them about their projects and play the victim, while also making a big show of “see, they’re still family, we still love them.” That being said, I still believe that this year, Harry and Charles have been in communication more consistently than most people know. The one tabloid story I believed completely was that Charles asked Harry directly not to speak about him either way. Harry has kept up his end so far, all while his father has briefed against him all year. I think it’s also worth noting that some of the “Charles and Harry have drama with each other” storyline is being pushed by William.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.