The Queen's statement on Harry and Meghan: is 61 words enough to put out the flames? Here's our verdict
There is perhaps an irony in Buckingham Palace being slow to react to criticism that the institution was passive in the face of Harry and Meghan's growing unhappiness within The Firm.
When the 61-word statement finally came at 5.26pm - nearly 40 hours after the couple's Oprah interview first aired in the US - it was notable both for its brevity and its unwillingness to take the Sussexes' shocking narrative as gospel.
The statement read:
The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan."The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.
Yet the long-awaited response did betray some clues as to the thinking behind palace gates right now.
"While some recollections may vary," more than hinted at a degree of scepticism over the Duke and the Duchess's controversial version of events while "the full extent" appears to suggest that they were not made fully aware of Harry and Meghan's discontent.
Expressing the Royal family's "sadness" and "concern", as expected, it echoed previous statements describing Harry, Meghan and Archie as "much loved family members".
Evoking the spirit of the 94-year-old monarch's message following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, this was once again Her Majesty speaking as both head of state and as a (great) grandmother. The Queen has always hated family conflict of any kind - and the words genuinely reflect the feeling of sadness among the Royal family that it has come to this.
The suggestion that the matters raised by Harry and Meghan will be addressed "privately" could be perceived as a slight on the couple rejecting the "never complain, never explain" mantra by airing their dirty linen in public.
Critics will inevitably find fault with the fact that no internal inquiry has been launched, not least when the couple not only criticised the Royals but the "institution" for failing to adequately support them.
Anyone expecting a line-by-line rebuttal were always going to be left disappointed, however. The palace will be hoping that this statement draws a line under what has undoubtedly been one of the most difficult 48 hours for the monarchy since the abdication crisis of 1936. Hence why it took so long to be finalised.
Contrary to reports that the Queen had "refused" to sign off the statement on Monday night, actually she simply wanted to sleep on it.
Having remained characteristically calm and collected in the face of the Sussexes' urgent need to break free in January last year, she seemingly felt no need to rush a response that merited her trademark careful consideration.
It is also thought that royal aides wanted to wait for the two-hour interview to be aired in the UK on Monday night before issuing a response. The timing, to catch the evening news schedule, was designed not to overshadow Prince Charles visiting an NHS vaccination centre.
Courtiers were bracing themselves for questions to be shouted at the heir to the throne but he declined to respond when asked for his reaction to the interview by one reporter.
As private secretaries and communications staff at all three households - Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Kensington Palace - worked on the wording of the statement on Monday, the Queen, Charles and William remained in regular phone contact.
It remains to be seen whether three paragraphs will be enough to extinguish the flames of the most incendiary royal interview ever given.
The Royals' greatest fear, of course, is that the public will be left thinking there is no smoke without fire.
