QUEEN’S DISMAY AS HARRY AND MEGHAN STEP BACK FROM ROYAL LIFE
Palace ‘disappointed’ over shock announcement to quit senior roles
THE Queen was left dismayed last night after Harry and Meghan “stepped back” from senior royal duties.
“Disappointed” Palace courtiers were
shocked by the couple’s abrupt announcement. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex say they will now make their own living while dividing their time between Britain and North America.
Less than a year after the birth of their son Archie, Harry and Meghan will cease to be full-time working members of “the Firm”.
They announced their decision in a personal message that came without warning to senior members of the Royal Family, including the Queen, Prince Charles and Camilla, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The
Queen’s advisers indicated that the couple had only begun very preliminary talks in the last few days with the 93-year-old monarch and the rest of the Firm about their desire for a new way of living.
In a terse statement, Buckingham Palace said: “Discussions with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage. We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through.”
The couple, who married in a lavish ceremony at Windsor Castle in May 2018 and welcomed eight-month-old Archie in May, will no longer be funded by taxpayers through the Sovereign Grant. They are said to hope to keep their Windsor home Grade II listed Frogmore Cottage in the grounds of Windsor Castle, which taxpayers spent £2.4million on upgrading.
They are also said to hope they will also be protected in Britain and abroad by taxpayer-funded police bodyguards.
But in neither case has a decision been made.
Nor is it clear yet if Prince Charles, who funds 95 per cent of their activities from his £21million annual income from the Duchy of Cornwall, will continue to pay for them. For the moment at least, they will retain their HRH status. And Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, have vowed to continue to undertake duties in support of the Queen and their charitable interests.
But the couple, only back this week from a seven-week break mostly spent in Canada, want the freedom to earn a living.
In their message to the public, the Duke and Duchess – who are due to launch their new Sussex Royal charitable foundation shortly – said: “After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution. We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty the Queen.
“It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment.
“We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to the Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages.
“This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also
providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity.”
The Sussexes laid out further details of their plans on a new website, explaining that they would no longer be funded by the Sovereign Grant.
It said: “They value the ability to earn a professional income, which in the current structure they are prohibited from doing.”
Harry has inherited wealth from his late mother Princess Diana and Meghan, pictured yesterday on a private visit to the National Theatre in London, is a former TV actress who starred in the US series Suits about working lawyers.
The couple will inevitably face criticism that they are cashing in on their royal status however, and they faced a furious backlash yesterday.
TV presenter Piers Morgan tweeted: “People say I’m too critical of Meghan Markle – but she ditched her family, ditched her dad, ditched most of her old friends, split Harry from William and has now split him from the Royal Family. I rest my case.”
THE decision by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to step away from public duties and spend more time in North America will come as a shock to many and is tinged with some sadness. After all, Harry and Meghan are in many ways the faces of the modernisation of the Royal Family and have been a tremendous breath of fresh air.
However, it is a massive error of judgment not to have informed the Queen of such a bold decision. Our indefatigable Head of State should have been consulted in full and listened to in earnest.
The young royal couple want to be free from the constraints of what they call the institution, to do their own thing. But they would have gained more empathy for their decision to step back from senior royal duties if they had done the right thing and shown respect and involved not only the Queen but immediate family. It is the most natural thing in the world to consult your elders when making life-changing decisions.
As a nation we love our Royal Family and Harry has a special place in the hearts of millions. However, as a country we do expect a certain decorum from members of The Firm. And Harry’s latest decision of not playing by those rules falls way short.
Understandably as a new dad with baby Archie his No 1 priority he wants to forge his own destiny and he should be allowed to do so. But he was born a royal and that brings privileges and responsibilities that will last his entire life.
Let’s remember Harry and Meghan can be – and are – an incredible force for good – so we hope this will continue.