Last month it emerged that the Duke of Sussex’s security in the UK, including taxpayer-funded armed police bodyguards, will be considered by committee in January – a key barrier to him returning more regularly with his children.

But any visits with Archie and Lilibet are highly unlikely to involve Meghan coming too – or any plans to see William, Kate and their three children.

It came after Prince Harry denied deliberately trying to overshadow his older brother’s trip to Brazil with his own pseudo-royal visit to Canada.

The Duke of Sussex released a defiant statement on November 5 claiming that the royal household was informed in advance, ‘as a courtesy’, that he was going to Toronto when his brother was in Rio.

But multiple sources in the UK insisted his announcement caught royal aides completely by surprise.

The row began when Harry revealed he was going to Toronto to mark ‘remembrancetide’ in an announcement released just as his older brother set foot on Sugarloaf Mountain.

The Prince of Wales had just landed in Brazil for a five-day visit to promote his Earthshot Prize when his younger brother revealed a trip of his own.

Kate Mansey said today: ‘There was a sense of weary inevitability in William’s camp when Harry decided to announce a trip to Canada for ‘remembrancetide’ at the start of his brother’s official visit to Brazil’.

Ms Mansey has spoken to Giovanna Fletcher about what the Princess of Wales is like, having recorded an episode of her ‘Happy Mum, Happy Baby’ podcast with the royal.

She said that Kate is passionate about helping children in early life and considers it her life’s work to improve life-chances and outcomes.

But off air they spoke with a laugh about ‘feral’ children and how Kate frequently loses her belongings.

‘She told me that she was notoriously bad at keeping an eye on her phone. She always loses her phone. All of her Christmas presents that year were related to her keeping track of her phone… It was all about her not losing her phone’, Giovanna said.

She said that Kate is passionate about helping children in early life and considers it her life’s work to improve life-chances and outcomes.

Kate is shy and was nervous to speak on the podcast, she explained.

‘What I think surprised me was how nervous we both were at the top of the chat,’ Fletcher said.

‘I think there’s no denying, when you talk to Catherine, you know what she means to the country, what influence she will have on life going forward — and can have with her early years campaigning. So I think I was nervous because of that. She was nervous because she knew that she was about to speak in a way that she’d never spoken before’.

But her husband popped up to reassure her.

Giovanna said: ‘Thankfully, Prince William came into the room and he said, “Just talk”,’ – and Kate spoke for 90 minutes instead of 45.

It is clear how much support she gets from William.

A source told The Times: ‘While it may seem a completely ridiculous comparison, it reminds me a bit of dear old David and Victoria Beckham.

‘I think the public can spot a genuine relationship and a genuinely strong marriage and two people who fit well together. How strong they are individually, but also as a couple. And I think that’s probably a great asset’.

One thing the couple have also had to deal with is the former Duke of York.

Andrew, 64, has lost all of his titles and is being kicked out of his Royal Lodge home.

Multiple sources have said that William took a very hard line on Andrew, harder than his father the King.

But The Times claims differently.

Kate Mansey writes: ‘William was often painted as the tough guy urging his father to put his foot down. This image of ruthless William was, I’m told, wide of the mark.

‘If anything, William was deeply concerned for his uncle’s mental health and how Andrew would cope after everything was taken away. Nevertheless, William realised that while Andrew had always denied any wrongdoing, he supported his father’s decision to strip Andrew of his royal titles. Kate, in turn, supported her husband in the matter’.