The King has issued a letter about the status of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as his younger son made his first public appearance following the couple’s surprise return to Britain.

In a rare move, the letter was sent to senior British government officials, reaffirming that the Sussexes are non-working members of the royal family .

It stated that they would continue not to use their royal titles, as they have done since stepping back from official duties in 2020.

Any charity work the duke and duchess do will be in a private capacity, and operational security decisions are matters for the relevant police agencies, the letter said.

The letter was sent by the Lord Chamberlain, the most senior official in the royal household, to senior officials in the Burnham government and military, as well as lord lieutenants, the King’s personal representatives around the country.

“To help avoid doubt or confusion, The King has directed that [this] information be shared,” the letter says.

While the communication simply confirms that Harry and Meghan’s status remains unchanged, the decision to send the letter and release it publicly demonstrates the concern among some palace observers that the couple’s status could allow them to become a sort of parallel royal court, competing with working members of the royal family.

It came as Harry was spotted for the first time since he and Meghan moved back to Britain with their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5. Tower Bridge Studios, a video and podcasting studio, shared photos on Instagram of Harry signing its celebrity wall – the duke apparently spent most of Monday working on an undisclosed project at the London production studio.

The prince also has another upcoming engagement confirmed. Sometime later this month, he will leap out of a plane to honour a promise to a 102-year-old veteran.

Harry’s skydive was confirmed by veterans charity Sunnybrook Foundation. It said the prince met World War II Veteran Ed Marshall in Toronto last year and the pair “bonded over their shared experience of military service and the way they have continued to serve their communities”.

Marshall, a former paratrooper, regaled the prince with a fundraising skydive he’d done to mark his 100th birthday.

“The idea stuck, and together, they devised a plan for another jump,” Sunnybrook said.

“This September, Prince Harry will take to the skies alongside fellow veterans for a fundraising skydive in honour of Sunnybrook veteran Ed Marshall. Ed’s grandson Bailey will proudly carry on his grandfather’s fearless legacy as part of the day.”

Harry reportedly plans to continue his charitable work following his recent return to Britain. Meghan will continue to run her As Ever lifestyle brand, and the couple will maintain their American their charitable foundation.

The Sussexes have otherwise kept a low profile in the days since returning. But the duchess was reportedly spotted recently.

“Meghan was at Soho Farmhouse this week, the rural outpost of the luxury London private members’ club in north Oxfordshire. Multiple sources have confirmed her presence at the venue to me,” royal watcher Tom Sykes wrote at the weekend.

The luxury private members’ club and hotel is a high-end rural retreat on 40 hectares in the Oxfordshire countryside, not far from the Cotswolds where the Sussexes are believed to be renting a home.

“[Meghan] arrived alone, I’m told, before 9am, and made her way directly to the relaxed upstairs area known as the Comfy Farm (a sort of lounge space above the main restaurant from which children are banned),” Sykes wrote.

“When she arrived, sources say, a considerable ‘fanfare’ was made of her, and she was informally introduced to several senior staff members by name, suggesting that they at least hope she will be a regular.”

Meghan’s outing came as The Gentlemen star Theo James again spoke about rumours she will join the cast of the hit Netflix show.

“Those kind of big, spurious rumours, I mean, I had heard one that Harry was going to join,” James told the Press Association in an interview with co-star Kaya Scodelario.

“Harry Styles?” Scodelario said.

“No, the prince,” James replied.

“We should just start making ones up,” Scodelario added of co-star rumours.

“Shows how little I know; I thought he was telling the truth.”

Meghan was reportedly in talks for a role in a possible third season, although the series has yet to be renewed.

The duchess, who made her name before her marriage in US legal drama Suits, recently acted for the first time in almost a decade in a cameo as herself in the comedy Close Personal Friends, starring Lily Collins and Brie Larson.

A leading talent manager said directors and producers would “absolutely want to meet” Meghan if she returned to acting, saying he had “no doubt there would be interest in her”.

“If Meghan decided tomorrow that she seriously wanted to act again, directors and producers would absolutely want to meet her and audition her,” InterTalent Rights Group chairman Jonathan Shalit said.

“Would she automatically be handed every role she wanted? Of course not. Nobody is,” Shalit said.

“But would doors open? Absolutely.”

Britain’s Sunday Times reported that Meghan will also pick up some charity work. She “expected to be photographed and publicised working with the charities but will keep a low-profile to begin with”, the paper wrote.

Friends of the couple have said they are “trying to avoid being spotted” while they focus on settling Archie and Lilibet in their new home and school.

“They are still unpacking at home and getting over the jet lag,” a source said.

“They’re buying school uniform and trying to buy pencil cases without being spotted.

“They wanted to come back, they’re excited about being back and everything that’s to come.”

The duchess has not been seen publicly in Britain since Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral four years ago.

-with AAP