Prince William and Kate Middleton Find Their Rivalry With Prince Harry and Meghan Markle 'Frustrating' Amid Health Crises

Ever since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the royal fold in 2020, their absence has been felt, especially as Kate Middleton and King Charles battle cancer.

“All of a sudden, the slimmed-down monarchy by default is looking very slim, so they are thin on the ground and obviously, were they still working royals, Harry and Meghan could have taken up a lot of the slack," Phil Dampier explained. "So it is frustrating."

"But we are where we are, and in some ways, you know, we're going to have to wait until George, Charlotte and Louis are another 10 years older before they can start performing duties," he noted. "And in the meantime, it's going to be difficult."

As Prince William juggles caring for his family and duties, the Sussexes are continuing to take on professional opportunities.

"Now that they [have] set up as this kind of rival court, they will obviously hope that things they do don't overlap what William's doing," Dampier claimed. "But it's just tragic that it's come to this, that they're doing their own thing."

OK! previously reported former royal butler Grant Harrold discussed how the royal family could react to the Sussexes' upcoming trip to Colombia.

“I think this could be one of the first steps in Meghan and Harry coming back to being working royals. It will be good to know if this has been sanctioned by the Palace or if Harry had a conversation with his father asking if he can do this," Harrold said on behalf of Slingo.

"I just can’t see them doing it without some sort of approval because this would upset the monarchy if they do it off their own back and I think there could be repercussions if they haven't been given permission by the royal household," the former royal butler continued. "If they are going to carry out a royal tour then they are acting as working royals so this could be an indication of them stepping back into royal life.”

After the success of their trip to Nigeria, the couple hinted at taking on more work overseas. However, the partners' time in South America could overshadow the Windsors.

'“There’s little doubt there is a vacuum. One’s really talking about really high-profile royals," Richard Fitzwilliams told an outlet. “Of course, the Princess Royal and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and others do sterling work and carry out visits abroad."

“But they are not particularly high profile, and I don’t think they particularly want to be," the commentator added. “The institution does need this oxygen. There’s also no doubt that Harry and Meghan discovered this in what I would describe as their faux royal tour to Nigeria.”

As Kate and Charles battle cancer, they're expected to maintain a low profile.

“It’s going to take an enormous amount of publicity and the royal family will not be able to match that in any way that I can foresee," Fitzwilliams shared. “They’ve shown in the last couple of weeks they’re not afraid to bring up material that would embarrass the royal family or refer to rifts with it."

“And that’s only a step away from overtly criticizing it," he added.

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Dampier spoke to The Sun.