Prince Harry appears in public for first time since royal split
Britain’s Prince Harry made his first public appearance yesterday since Queen Elizabeth acceded to the wishes of her grandson and his American wife Meghan to step back from their senior royal roles and seek a more independent future.
The prince, sixth-in-line to the throne, watched children playing rugby league in the back garden of Buckingham Palace ahead of making the draw for the sport’s World Cup next year.
The event is his last scheduled royal engagement before he and Meghan begin a “period of transition” to their new roles.
Last week, Harry, 35, and former actress Meghan, 38, sparked a crisis in the British monarchy by announcing they wanted to reduce their royal duties and spend more time in North America, while also becoming financially independent.
The public announcement caught the rest of the royal family by surprise and left the queen and other senior Windsors hurt and disappointed, according to royal sources.
A friend of Harry and Meghan said the couple felt they had been driven out.
After a family summit on Monday at the queen’s Sandringham estate attended by the queen, Harry, his elder brother Prince William and his father and heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, it was agreed that the couple would split their time between Britain and Canada.
“Though we would have preferred them to remain fulltime working members of the royal family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family,” the 93year-old monarch said in a rare, highly personal statement.
The couple have said they want a progressive new role for themselves and the ability to fund themselves.
At present they are not allowed to seek private income and most of their money comes from the private estate of Harry’s father.
Meghan is in Canada with the couple’s baby son, Archie, where she has carried out a couple of low-key events this week.
The media reported that Harry would stay in Britain for meetings next week as details about their future are hammered out before joining her.
On Wednesday, Harry, who served for a decade in the British army, published a video to announce Germany would host the next Invictus Games sporting event for wounded military personnel, indicating he would still give his support to causes he feels strongly about.
As one of the world’s most glamorous couples, they have struggled with intense media scrutiny, with Harry describing some coverage of Meghan as bullying, akin to the treatment his mother Princess Diana endured before her death in a 1997 car crash.
Some observers have criticised British media for racism in its coverage of Meghan, whose mother is AfricanAmerican.
This week, the Mail on Sunday newspaper submitted its defence to court action by Meghan over the publication of a private letter she sent to her estranged father, Thomas Markle.
The case could see Markle testify against her.