JUST A REGULAR HARRY
NO MORE TITLE OR PUBLIC FUNDS
THE Queen has used an “iron fist in a velvet glove” to deliver a deal that stops Harry and Meghan using their royal titles and makes them pay back $A5 million for renovations on their UK home.
Less than two years after almost two billion watched their wedding, Harry and Meghan have negotiated their royal exit in just 10 days since their shock announcement.
The couple will no longer be called their Royal Highnesses (HRH), and stop receiving UK taxpayer money.
Harry also had to step down from his military roles, including Captain General of the Royal Marines, because the couple can no longer “formally represent the Queen”.
The couple were now likely to make Canada their main hub, with the US also on the cards.
The Queen said in a statement yesterday: “Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much-loved members of my family. I am pleased that together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family.”
The Queen also said she understood why they were leaving the royal family.
“I recognise the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life,” the Queen said.
“I want to thank them for all their dedicated work across this country, the Commonwealth and beyond, and am particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family.
“It is my whole family’s hope that today’s agreement allows them to start building a happy and peaceful new life.”
Buckingham Palace released a separate statement saying the couple would no longer use their royal titles.
Instead they will be known simply as Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.
The royal family’s door has been left open because their titles have not been taken away, they are just on ice and the whole deal will be reviewed in 12 months.
The couple will not receive taxpayer funds from the Australian
autumn, however, the Bank of Dad, Prince Charles, was likely to keep paying them $A4 million a year.
British broadcaster Piers Morgan said the Queen had made sure the couple could not “have their cake and eat it too”.
But Dan Wootton, the Sun journalist who broke the story, said that missed the point – Meghan has “exactly what she wants”, the chance to cash in on her fame without the royal strings attached.
Ingrid Seward, editor-inchief of Majesty magazine, said the Queen was trying to keep the peace but maintain a hard line.