‘Harry and Meghan’ drop royal branding
Duke and Duchess close ‘Sussex Royal’ accounts and sign off social media to ‘focus on their family’
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have mothballed their “Sussex Royal” accounts as they leave Britain behind to spend the next few months “focusing on their family” and working “safely and privately”. The Duke and Duchess, now living in Los Angeles, told fans on Instagram “You’ve been great!” as they signed off as “Harry and Meghan” to enter a social media blackout with a day to spare before the deadline to remove the word royal from their branding.
THE Duke and Duchess of Sussex have mothballed their “Sussex Royal” accounts as they leave Britain behind to spend the next few months “focusing on their family” and working “safely and privately”.
The Duke and Duchess, who are now living in California, told fans “You’ve been great!” as they signed off for a social media blackout with a day to spare before the deadline to remove the word royal from their branding.
The couple have postponed plans to unveil the next stage of their working lives, instead saying simply that they “look forward to reconnecting with you soon”.
Saying they would “prefer that in the immediate weeks and months, the focus remains on the global response to Covid-19”, the couple are officially winding up their Sussex Royal Foundation in the UK and moving to a US celebrity PR team.
Yesterday, a spokesman said: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will spend the next few months focusing on their family and continuing to do what they can, safely and privately, to support and work with their pre-existing charitable commitments while developing their future non-profit organisation.”
In their final Instagram post for now, signed as Harry and Meghan, they said the world’s priority is seeking solutions to the coronavirus pandemic. “As we all find the part we are to play in this global shift and changing of habits, we are focusing this new chapter to understand how we can best contribute,” they said. “While you may not see us here, the work continues.
“Thank you to this community – for the support, the inspiration and the shared commitment to the good in the world.
“We look forward to reconnecting with you soon. You’ve been great!
“Until then, please take good care of yourselves, and of one another. Harry and Meghan.”
The Sussexes had to stop using “Sussex Royal” from today under an agreement with the Queen, as they pursue “financial independence”.
The Sussex Royal Instagram account and website will not be deleted but will be “inactive” and comments – which have become heavily critical – disabled.
The couple had received a barrage of criticism on their own posts, with Instagram users accusing them of fleeing their responsibilities in Britain and moving to celebrity-filled LA despite claiming to want privacy.
The couple have “made private security arrangements” for their new life in America, although a spokesman did not confirm whether this is intended to fully replace their current British taxpayer-funded security.
A Home Office source said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s ongoing publicly funded security arrangements were still under discussion and that no decisions had yet been made.
“For their safety and that of those protecting them, no further comment or guidance will be provided,” Buckingham Palace said.