Two directors at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's new charity foundation quit their roles ...

It is difficult to know how much of what is being said is real and accurate - there's a whole media industry that thrives on the idea of controversy in the Royal family, and they are perfectly prepared to make things up at times.

But adapting to be a member of the House of Windsor is difficult so it would not be surprising if the Duchess of Sussex is having difficulties. In time, I assume they will be worked out - there's a lot of people willing to help with this process - some compromises may be made on some issues - if there are things she wants done differently from the way they've been done in the past, she may get some of what she wants. But there are some non-negotiables.

I would be very surprised if the Sussexes permanently moved to the United States. The reason for that is that the Duke of Sussex actually has official duties. He is a Counsellor of State (along with his father, his elder brother, and his uncle, the Duke of York) and can expect to hold that role for the next sixteen years (until Princess Charlotte of Cambridge is 21) - the duties involved with that more or less require him to be mostly resident in the UK. He also needs to be available to serve as Regent if necessary, for the next seventeen years. This is a reality he and his wife need to face. He has constitutional duties and responsibilities - nowhere near as significant as those of his elder brother, but they are not trivial either.

But they might be able to have a second home in the US, and spend substantial time there - that isn't impossible. If that really is something they wanted and were willing to take a stand on.

Thanks so much for the lengthy post. A few questions, if you don't mind

1) What does Charles think about Brexit? I'd think he'd be in favor of restoring the UK's independence but I'm really not sure how much of a European globalist he many be.

2) Will Charles become king? I was beginning to think they might jump a generation. King Charles is still planned?

3) Where does Charles stand on gun and knife control? Does he think it's effective? Does he fear guns in the hands of citizens?

4) Is Northern Ireland still a disputed issue? Where is Charles on this? How will Brexit impact this location?

5) Environmentalism - where does the Prince stand on using force to "save the planet"? Were he American, would he sign on to something as vague as a Green New Deal with all its mandated restrictions? How about drilling ? Would Charles restrict drilling? What about fracking? Where does the Prince prefer to buy oil?

6) What about Iran? Did he support delivering cash to them? Where is he on the oil embargo? Does he support a bad deal over no deal?

Sorry, that's probably too many questions for now. It's rare to meet someone who knows Chas.

I have to be clear - I have to be careful what I say about what I know and don't know about HRH's views, so I can't answer all your questions. The Prince has to be at arms length from current political issues and things he says in private can't always be discussed in public. I'll do my best though.

1) What does Charles think about Brexit? I'd think he'd be in favor of restoring the UK's independence but I'm really not sure how much of a European globalist he many be.

The Prince will be the Sovereign of the United Kingdom and it is fair to say he takes the idea of British Sovereignty extremely seriously. In any case where there is a conflict between the needs of the United Kingdom and the needs of the European Union, the United Kingdom will always come first. If European unity could be achieved in a way that fully maintained British sovereignty he could support that.

2) Will Charles become king? I was beginning to think they might jump a generation. King Charles is still planned?

Yes, Charles will become King. At this stage, there is no doubt of that whatsoever. First of all, there's the simple constitutional and legal issue - Charles automatically becomes King the instant his Mother dies. This is laid down absolutely clearly in British law and that of all the Commonwealth Realms. Under the Act of Settlement of 1701, as currently modified by the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, Charles becomes King automatically.

Theoretically he would have the option of immediately abdicating if he chose to, but until the Instrument of Abdication took effect, he would still be King - it might only be for a few days.

If there was any intention of skipping Charles, it would require legislation in sixteen different countries - the United Kingdom, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu - under the Statute of Westminster 1931, all of the Commonwealth Realms have exactly the same power over the laws of succession and all have to agree to alter those laws (the Statute is, in many ways, what changed the British Empire into the Commonwealth - the United Kingdom ceased to have power over the other realms and simply became the 'First among Equals'.

This isn't a change that could happen overnight - we've actually just recently been through the process of altering the rules so that sisters now have equal status to brothers in the line of succession (which is why Princess Charlotte is ahead of her younger brother, Louis - prior to the change he would have leapfrogged her). That largely non-controversial change was formally agreed at a conference in Perth, Australia, in 2011, but it still took until 2015 to take effect (largely because in Australia, all six states also had to separately agree).

So basically if this was being contemplated, you'd see a lot of discussion of it, and legislation all over the world to make it happen.

Could it happen? Yes - if the Queen and the Prince of Wales both said they wanted it to happen, I'm sure the various Parliaments would give effect to it. But they haven't, and they won't - at least not now.

If the Prince of Wales health deteriorated, it might be considered - but at the moment, he's still a very healthy man for his age.

He also wishes for William to have as normal a life as possible for as long as possible - so he will take the throne for as long as he can, to give William that chance.

3) Where does Charles stand on gun and knife control? Does he think it's effective? Does he fear guns in the hands of citizens?

Charles is an active hunter and shooter and has an impressive firearms collection, albeit one that is closely linked to the specific type of traditional hunting he does. He does not believe that he should have any more rights in this regard than anybody else in the United Kingdom.

4) Is Northern Ireland still a disputed issue? Where is Charles on this? How will Brexit impact this location?

This I cannot comment on at all, except to say the Prince of Wales obviously wishes for nothing but peace for everybody resident in both the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland.

I think the Prince would regard the idea of using force as a way of promoting environmentalism is an oxymoron. The Prince's environmentalism is different from that commonly promoted by most environmental groups - his beliefs stem around sustainability and always have - the idea that you husband resources and use them carefully. I do not believe he has any problem with drilling as long as it is done with proper care with the aim of limiting damage as much as possible. Fracking... the same, but I think he'd have more concern that it might be harder to achieve that aim with fracking and consequently, it should be more restricted geographically. He would prefer to address the world's energy problems by finding new sustainable solutions first, rather than shutting down what is already being done prematurely in most cases. I have no idea where he'd want to get oil from, specifically.

6) What about Iran? Did he support delivering cash to them? Where is he on the oil embargo? Does he support a bad deal over no deal?

Again, I have to be very careful on this. The Prince wants friendly relationships between the United Kingdom and all other nations wherever possible, but he fully understands that such relationships rely on good will on both sides. He has grave concerns, which he has expressed publically, about the treatment of Christians in certain countries in the Middle East, and he has specifically mentioned concerns about Iran in this regard. Beyond that, I don't feel I can comment.

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