Sussexes venture into the political arena

Buckingham Palace was yesterday forced to distance itself from the Duke of Sussex, as he risked a diplomatic row after joining a voting drive in the US presidential election. Venturing into the political arena for the first time since leaving the Royal Family, the Duke urged Americans to ‘‘reject hate speech’’ as ‘‘we approach this November’’. A spokesman for Buckingham Palace, in a striking statement distancing the palace from the Sussexes, said: ‘‘The Duke is not a working member of the Royal Family and any comments he makes are made in a personal capacity.’’