A royal end: Harry and Meghan quit
LONDON — Goodbye, your royal highnesses. Hello, life as — almost — ordinary civilians.
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, are quitting as working royals and will no longer use the titles “royal highness” or receive public funds for their work under a deal announced Saturday by Buckingham Palace.
The new arrangements take effect within months.
The couple will no longer use the prestigious titles His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness, but they are not being stripped of them.
They will be known as Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Harry will remain a prince and sixth in line to the British throne.
The agreement also calls for Meghan and Harry to repay $3.1 million in taxpayer money that was spent renovating a house for them, called Frogmore Cottage, near Windsor Castle.
The announcement came after days of talks among royal courtiers sparked by Meghan and Harry’s announcement last week that they wanted to step down as senior royals and live part time in Canada.
Queen Elizabeth II had warm words for them in a statement Saturday. The 93-year-old queen said she was pleased that “together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved members of my family.”
“I recognize the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life,” Elizabeth said.
The new arrangement will represent an almost complete break from life as working royals, especially for Harry. As a devoted Army veteran and servant to the crown, the prince carried out dozens of royal engagements.
It is not clear whether Harry and Meghan will continue to receive financial support from Harry’s father, Prince Charles, who used revenue from the Duchy of Cornwall to help fund his activities and those of his wife and sons. The withdrawal of Harry from royal engagements will increase the demands on his brother, Prince William, and William’s wife, Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge.
Buckingham Palace did not disclose who will pay for the couple’s security going forward. It currently is funded by taxpayers and carried out primarily by a special unit of the Metropolitan Police, also known as Scotland Yard.
“There are well-established independent processes to determine the need for publicly funded security,” the palace said.