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T<\/span>his week, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been on a quasi-royal dash around the Middle East<\/a> \u2013 sorry, a two-day humanitarian visit to Jordan at the behest of the World Health Organisation. And their timing was, as always, deliciously perfect.<\/p>\n Meghan, looking like she\u2019d just rolled out of bed in creased, clownishly oversized beige linen trousers<\/a>, had a kickabout with a group of young girls at the Za’atari refugee camp, before Prince Harry, wearing his now signature scowl<\/a>, joined her for shooting practice.<\/p>\n Their first international tour as a couple for 18 months came just two weeks after Prince William\u2019s three-day tour<\/a> of neighbouring Saudi Arabia, where, in his capacity as president of the Football Association, he took part in \u2013 wait for it \u2013 a football training session with young female players in Riyadh to promote women\u2019s sports. Snap!<\/p>\n During their stay in Jordan, Harry and Meghan also visited the National Centre for Rehabilitation of Addicts in Amman, inviting comparisons with Kate\u2019s work as patron of the Forward Trust, a UK charity that supports recovering addicts<\/a>. This time, Meghan opted for high-street style over haute couture, wearing a \u00a3109 jacket from Zara \u2013 the very same store that Kate has long made the cornerstone of her professional wardrobe.<\/p>\n At the clinic, Harry left an inspiring handwritten note on a wall for patients: \u201cIt’s OK to not be OK.\u201d The duke may have had in mind something that Prince William had said days earlier, at the Bafta<\/a> Awards, when discussing the tear-jerking Outstanding British Film winner Hamnet<\/em>. Opening up a little about his own mental condition, he admitted he was \u201cnot in a calm state\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the royal sibling rivalry stakes, even more significant is the destination for Harry and Meghan\u2019s power trip: Jordan, which has a special, personal place in the hearts of William and Kate.<\/p>\n As a young child, Kate lived in Amman for almost three years, when her father worked for British Airways. In 2021, the couple took their children \u2013 Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis \u2013 on a private family holiday to the cherished spot. A family photo taken at the ancient city of Petra was on their official Christmas card that year.<\/p>\n So, well done, Harry and Meghan \u2013 it seems you\u2019ve done it again! <\/p>\n Not that the headline-stealing went as smoothly as the Sussexes might have liked: they were seemingly snubbed by the King and Crown Prince of Jordan, close friends of King Charles and Prince William, who were unable to agree to the couple\u2019s request to meet them. <\/p>\n Ever since Harry and Meghan stepped back from their roles as working members of the royal family six years ago and moved to Montecito in California, they have shown an uncanny knack for drawing media attention away from William and Kate\u2019s charitable activities. One might even call it jealousy. <\/p>\n In March 2024, when Kate revealed she had been diagnosed with cancer<\/a>, news leaked on a Sussex family friend\u2019s Instagram feed that Meghan would be launching a limited edition strawberry jam<\/a> and luxury dog biscuits. <\/p>\n On the same day in September 2024 that Kate released an emotional video message<\/a> announcing she had completed her chemotherapy treatment and was focusing on staying cancer-free, the Sussexes issued a teaser trailer for their Netflix docuseries about the elite world of international polo<\/a>.<\/p>\n Then last October, when Harry and Meghan were named \u201cHumanitarians of the Year\u201d at the Project Healthy Minds Gala, they gave speeches in New York about the dangers of social media on children \u2013 hours after Kate published a deeply personal essay on the dangers of screentime for children and an \u201cepidemic of disconnection\u201d. <\/p>\n Could this all just be a coincidence? Of course. But how about we look at a few upcoming key events in the Waleses\u2019 diary and, as a thought experiment, imagine how Team Sussex might go about upstaging them? <\/p>\n As a patron of the FA, Prince William will doubtless be in the United States for this summer\u2019s World Cup<\/a>. With eight fixtures being played in California, Prince Harry may also be keen to attend\u2026 but, rather than risk a public run-in with his brother, how about quietly fixing for the Sussex clan to holiday en famille for the first time in the old country? A flying visit to London to show Archie and Lillbet their ancestral home, with a cheeky selfie taken among the tourists outside Buckingham Palace, would blow people\u2019s minds \u2013 and the Waleses off the front pages.<\/p>\n Around the same time, the Princess of Wales, as patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, is expected to present the winners\u2019 trophies at Wimbledon. Which would be a good time for Meghan to upstage her by drafting in her friend, the former tennis world No 1 Serena Williams<\/a>, for a new touchy-feely podcast, discussing women\u2019s sport or motherhood \u2013 or get Venus along, too, and talk about sibling rivalry!<\/p>\n