HARRY: I AM SO SAD IT’S COME TO THIS
After historic Megxit deal, duke breaks silence to say he had to take ‘leap of faith’ in bid for ‘more peaceful life’
PRINCE Harry last night revealed his ‘great sadness it has come to this’ as he spoke about his split from the Royal Family. After the dramatic weekend announcement that he and Meghan have effectively been ‘shelved’, he said he would always have the ‘utmost respect’ for the Queen – ‘my commander in chief’. However, he added that for the sake of his wife and son he needed to take ‘this leap of faith’ to find a ‘more peaceful life’.
The Queen’s grandson said he was speaking ‘not as a prince, or a duke, but as Harry, the same person that many of
you have watched grow up over the last 35 years – but with a clearer perspective’.
Insisting that the UK would always be his home, he maintained that his wife, Meghan, ‘upholds the same values as I do’ and was ‘excited’ and ‘ hopeful’ about playing a full royal role after their wedding.
But he said now ‘there really was no other option’ but to step back – a decision which, he said, was ‘not one I made lightly’. Harry’s words came as the Mail can reveal:
The couple hope to make their fortune with a film and TV production company, according to sources – and Netflix has already said they would work with them;
Friends told how the Sussexes will be ‘forever grateful’ to the Queen for thinking ‘outside the box’ and have promised they will not bring the Royal Family into disrepute through any ‘dodgy deals’;
Royal officials agreed to let the couple keep their HRH titles as they feared if they were stripped of them they would have to curtsey to Beatrice and Eugenie;
The Queen said she wanted Harry and Meghan to keep Frogmore Cottage as she feared they could leave the UK forever. They then agreed to pay back the £2.4million of taxpayers’ money spent on it;
Harry was said to be ‘deeply upset’ at losing his role as a Commonwealth Youth Ambassador, but was persuaded he could still undertake meaningful work with the ‘family of nations’;
Negotiations over the ‘exit’ – dubbed a ‘hard Megxit’ – have brought Harry and William closer than they have been ‘for more than a year’, sources claim;
Prince Charles is said to be saddened by what has happened but believes if his son is going to be happier abroad, then seeing less of him is a price he will have to pay;
A host of further details have yet to be ironed out, such as the cost of security and who is paying for it – and whether Meghan will be allowed to call herself a ‘royal patron’ of institutions such as the National Theatre.
Harry’s speech – the first time he has addressed in detail the historic split from the Royal Family – was made at a dinner in aid of the charity Sentebale, which he founded in 2006 to honour his mother’s legacy supporting those affected by HIV and Aids in Lesotho.
He warned his audience: ‘Before I begin, I must say that I can only imagine what you may have heard or perhaps read over the last few weeks… So, I want you to hear the truth from me, as much as I can share – not as a prince, or a duke, but as Harry, the same person many of you have watched grow up over the last 35 years – but with a clearer perspective. The UK is my home and a place that I love. That will never change.’
Referring to his mother with a hint of his old humour, Harry added: ‘I have grown up feeling support from so many of you, and I watched as you welcomed Meghan with open arms as you saw me find the love and happiness that I had hoped for all my life. Finally, the second son of Diana got hitched, hurray!’
He spoke of his love for Meghan and insisted she shared his hopes, dreams and passions, saying: ‘I also know you’ve come to know me well enough over all these years to trust that the woman I chose as my wife upholds the same values as I do. And she does, and she’s the same woman I fell in love with. We both do everything we can to fly the flag and carry out our roles for this country with pride. Once Meghan and I were married, we were excited, we were hopeful, and we were here to serve. For those reasons, it brings me great sadness that it has come to this.’
Stressing their decision to step back was not an easy one, he admitted that their hope to continue serving the Queen by undertaking royal duties, despite leaving the country to live in Canada, had been dashed.
He said: ‘What I want to make clear is we’re not walking away, and we certainly aren’t walking away from you.’ Taking another side-swipe at the British media, he added: ‘When I lost my mum 23 years ago, you took me under your wing. You’ve looked out for me for so long, but the media is a powerful force, and my hope is one day our collective support for each other can be more powerful.’
Harry said he would always have the ‘utmost respect for my grandmother’ – even though he left her deeply hurt by revealing details of his and Meghan’s plans to quit without telling her first. As the Mail revealed last week, the Queen and other senior royals found out Harry had gone public on TV.