Either he is genuinely that obtuse, or he is deliberately playing that role to avoid confronting reality, which would require a much harsher word.
the Duke was asked whether he recognised the description of himself as “not a working royal”.
He said: “I will always be part of the Royal family and I’m here working and doing the very thing I was born to do. - The Telegraph-
What he is doing relies on interpreting everything in the most literal and self-serving way possible. That is exactly what allows him to keep travelling around the world under the guise of “tours” or official-looking visits. It creates the illusion that he still holds relevance on an international stage. In reality, that relevance is largely self-constructed. He is not an official representative of any government, yet he behaves as if he carries institutional authority. In his mind, representing a monarchy, or even just being connected to one, is enough to justify that behaviour. That belief is central to everything. It explains why his titles matter so much to him. It explains why there is such insistence on using them in every context, even in situations that have nothing to do with public service. Those titles are not just labels. They are the foundation of his identity and the only thing that gives weight to what he does. Without them, there is very little left to justify the image he is trying to project.
There is also a deeper issue here, which is not just about perception but about complicity. The countries and institutions that receive him often play along with this performance. Whether it is out of politeness, opportunism, or simple indifference, they reinforce the idea that his presence carries official significance. That validation feeds the narrative he has built for himself. Situations like the one involving the armed forces in Australia, and even more so what has been seen in Ukraine, are not just isolated incidents. They are examples of how easily this illusion is sustained when no one challenges it.
What makes it more concerning is that he appears to genuinely believe in this version of reality. He does not seem to see himself as a private citizen trying to build an independent role. Instead, he acts as though he still holds a form of inherited authority. He speaks and behaves as if he has the right to influence matters that would normally be reserved for official figures. In his view, being the son of a head of state automatically grants him a degree of ongoing power and legitimacy, even when that is no longer formally the case. That is where the disconnect becomes most obvious.
All of these trips ultimately serve a personal purpose. They are not grounded in clear responsibility or accountability. They function as a way to maintain a sense of importance. His wife’s role in this dynamic seems more passive and pragmatic. She appears to go along with it because it is necessary and occasionally beneficial, but there is little indication that she is genuinely invested in the same narrative. The energy behind it does not seem to come from her.
At its core, this situation feels like an attempt to fill a gap that has never really been addressed. He has spent his entire life defined by proximity to power rather than by personal achievement. First it was his parents, then the institution, then his brother, and even now there are moments where he is overshadowed by his own partner. There has never been a clear, independent identity separate from those structures. That absence becomes more noticeable over time.
Now, in his forties, there is a visible effort to hold on to something that provides meaning, even if it is built on shaky ground. The constant references to his past, to his birth status, and to defining moments like his mother’s funeral, suggest that those are still the pillars he relies on to explain who he is. Instead of moving beyond them, he seems to circle back to them repeatedly.
In the end, all of this comes across as an attempt to mask a very simple reality. He does not seem to know how to exist outside the framework he was born into. Being a royal is not just part of his identity, it is almost the entirety of it. Without that framework, there is very little substance left to support the image he is trying to maintain.
In short, what looks like international engagement or continued service is, in reality, a carefully sustained illusion. It depends on titles, on perception, and on the willingness of others to treat it as meaningful. Strip those elements away, and what remains is not influence or authority, but a person still trying to prove he matters in a world where those inherited markers no longer carry the same weight.
At the end, he is not even a spare. A spare at least has a purpose and a place when needed. He is more like a leftover part from a completely different machine, still insisting he belongs, still trying to wedge himself in, even though nothing quite fits and it never really will.
