Palace set to reveal fate of Royal rebels
Buckingham Palace will bring forward its final ‘‘Megxit’’ announcement on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s royal patronages to prevent further speculation and uncertainty, the understands.
The couple are expected to be stripped of their roles as the oneyear review period of their exit from royal life comes to an end next month.
But none of the organisations involved have received any communication from the palace about the move, leaving them ‘‘blindsided’’ by the disclosures with future events in limbo.
As a result, the decision is expected to be announced sooner rather than later, as aides indicated that it would not be left until the end of March.
The Duke is set to lose his three honorary military appointments, as well as patronages with the Rugby Football Union, Rugby Football League and the London Marathon, while the Duchess will have to step down as patron of the National Theatre.
While a source close to the couple indicated yesterday that they were reluctantly resigned to losing their links with organisations passed down through the Royal family, they too were awaiting confirmation from the palace. It came as a friend insisted that the Duke and Duchess’s decision to give an ‘‘intimate’’ and ‘‘wide ranging’’ interview to Oprah Winfrey was not agreed as a form of revenge but had been long planned. The couple will not be paid for the interview, which is due to be recorded this week and broadcast on US network CBS on March 7.
Gayle King, a CBS anchor, revealed that no subject was off the table.
‘‘This is a big deal,’’ she said. ‘‘I know Oprah has been working on the questions all weekend long, I’m told that nothing is off limits.’’
A one-year review period was put in place when the Sussexes stepped back from royal duties last March as a ‘‘safety net’’ in case they changed their minds or failed to secure any financial deals as they pursued an independent life.
Their royal patronages and the Duke’s honorary military titles, Captain General of the Royal Marines, Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Honington and Commodore-in-Chief, Small Ships and Diving, Royal Naval Command, were put on hold until that year was up on March 31. Discussions on those outstanding issues have been ongoing with Buckingham Palace in recent weeks.
But a source close to the Sussexes suggested that the couple knew they would be unable to retain such titles after the Queen made clear last year that they could not opt for a ‘‘one foot in, one foot out’’ approach to official duties. –