Just five minutes before The King and Queen arrived at the Quirinale Palace for a ceremonial welcome by President Mattarella in Rome, The Duke of Sussex unexpectedly made a public appearance in London.
Prince Harry marched into the Royal Courts of Justice before an appeal in his legal challenge against the Home Office, after his taxpayer-funded police security was downgraded when he stood back as a working member of the Royal Family.
The King's son's critics immediately hit out at him, accusing The Prince of deliberately overshadowing his father's important affairs of state.
Others defended Harry, who's lawyers told the court today that he “felt forced to step back” from his role as a senior working royal, because he felt he and his wife "were not being protected by the institution".
Prince Harry unexpectedly made a public appearance in London while the King and Queen have travelled to Italy on a state visit
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On the one hand, Prince Harry did not set the date of his appeal hearings, and could be an unfortunate coincidence that his case was heard today.
However, The Duke of Sussex was not obliged to attend on Tuesday - he chose to do so.
Perhaps this shows that the Prince feels this could be a 'last chance saloon' to get his police protection reinstated; he claims he does not feel safe bringing his family to the UK.
However, the State Visit to Italy has been in the diary for months.
It is a chance for The King to use his soft power, strengthening relations between the UK and Italy, as his own son is accused of damaging relations with His Majesty's government.
Prince Harry attended the Royal Courts of Justice before an appeal in his legal challenge against the Home Office
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Meanwhile, his wife Meghan has launched a new podcast, named 'Confessions Of A Female Founder'.
In Episode One, The Duchess revealed she had been diagnosed with postpartum pre-eclampsia following the birth of one of her children - a piece of news that has stolen a lot of headlines.
Of course, Meghan Markle (or Meghan Sussex, as she would now like to be known) is not producing her podcast by herself.
She is helped by a dedicated team at Lemonada Media - a female founded production company.
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King Charles and Queen Camilla's State Visit to Italy has been in the diary for months
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I suspect Meghan did not get a final say on the release date.
I also suspect the decision was purely commercial, rather than deliberate to upstage King Charles and Queen Camilla.
However, it does shine a light on the Sussex strategy, and the risk of unintended consequences.
A simple check of the Royal Diary would have clearly shown the State Visit inked in - perhaps leading to a less controversial release date being chosen instead.
Meghan Markle launched the first episode of her new podcast called 'Confessions of a Female Founder'InstagramAlthough the visit was in the Royal Diary, it was not public knowledge until around a month ago.
Does this suggest Prince Harry and Meghan no longer have access to royal secrets?
Does Buckingham Palace trust them to keep confidential information to themselves, in the wake of the infamous Oprah Winfrey interview, memoir and Netflix series? I suspect not.
Whatever the outcome of Prince Harry's court battles, and however successful the King and Queen’s State Visit to Italy turns out to be, The Duke of Sussex could remain isolated from his father and brother for the foreseeable future.
