Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have more chances of being welcomed back into the royal fold after the latest royal departure, a royal commentator has claimed. Earlier this week, Buckingham Palace announced that the King’s right-hand man, Sir Clive Alderton, would step down from his role 20 years after first joining the Royal Household.

Sir Clive, the King and Queen’s principal private secretary, will leave his role next year – coinciding with his 60th birthday in May – but will continue supporting the royal couple in a “less formal capacity”. A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “I know Their Majesties are deeply grateful to Sir Clive for his tireless support and wise counsel over the years, and for the enduring loyalty that will ensure a smooth transition to his successor.” But now a royal commentator has suggested the bombshell departure could pave the way for the Sussexes getting closer to the King and the overall Firm.

Sir Clive is known to have maintained a highly adversarial and protective stance against the Sussexes, acting as a key gatekeeper for King Charles III.

Royal commentator Dan Wooton said on the Megyn Kelly show: “This is all about the mechanics of finding a way for Prince Harry to return to the royal fold.

“Sir Clive was doing his damnedest to save King Charles from himself. And he is now gone.”

Sir Clive reportedly led royal aides in finalising plans with the Duke of Sussex in the aftermath of the 2020 “Sandringham Summit” about Megxit, when the late Queen issued a statement which sanctioned Harry and Meghan’s new “independent life” away from full-time royal duties.

The royal aide played a pivotal royal in ensuring the smooth transition of the then Prince of Wales to his role as King in the years leading up to accession in 2022 and the period afterwards.

He has kept pace with Charles, described as a “complete workaholic” by his wife, and over the years, helped turn his ideas into action.

Sir Clive said in a message to staff: “It has been the greatest imaginable honour to serve the King and Queen in my present role through such historic times and with unforgettable humour along the way.

“That support will continue, in a less formal capacity, for all of my life.”

Sir Clive is coming to the end of his second period of working for Charles and Camilla, having first joined their household in 2006 as the couple’s deputy private secretary a year after they married.

He was promoted three years later to their private secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.

The career diplomat, who had joined the then Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1986, was appointed the UK’s Ambassador to Morocco in 2012 and served three years in the post before returning as the then Prince of Wales and his wife’s principal aide.

Sir Clive was knighted in 2022 under the Royal Victoria Order, awards which are in the monarch’s gift and are bestowed independently of Downing Street to people who have served the sovereign or the Royal Family in a personal way.

He will focus his remaining time, in the run-up to his 60th birthday and until he hands over to his successor, on the work of the royal household and on supporting the new principal private secretary when chosen.