GOODBYE, BUCKINGHAM
Prince Harry and Meghan will give up their royal duties, titles.
LONDON — Buckingham Palace announced Friday that Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, will lose their last royal patronages and honorary military titles, as Queen Elizabeth II confirmed that the California-based power couple could not keep the perks if they did not do the work.
“Following conversations with The Duke, The Queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of The Royal Family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service,” the palace said in a statement, which sounded a bit pointed to many.
Also worth noting, the queen’s “conversations” (more than one) were with the duke — not the duchess.
After they walked away last year from their lives as “working royals” in Britain, the palace agreed to a 12month review to see if some compromise could be struck, whereby the couple would continue to represent the monarch as part-timers — half Hollywood, half pomp and circumstance.
Alas, the queen has never liked the concept of “one foot in, one foot out” for working royals. You are either in the castle — or “The Firm,” as it is casually known — or you are beyond the walls and on your own.
“The queen made pretty clear last January, when they were negotiating, that you’re either in or you’re out,” said Dickie Arbiter, the queen’s former press secretary. The past year, he said, was about the duke and duchess “finding out what direction they want to go, and they have chosen that
direction. They signed with Netflix. They signed with Spotify. They are doing an interview with Oprah Winfrey. They’ve chosen their direction, and it’s not the same direction as the queen and the monarchy. So, they are out.”
The statement from Buckingham Palace put the onus on the couple, now living in the oceanside hills south of Santa Barbara, Calif., on a $15 million estate, while they podcast, endorse products and prepare to produce content for Netflix.
Oprah Winfrey is one of their neighbors. The palace is said to be bracing for possible embarrassments after CBS announced this week that it will air a 90-minute program, “Oprah With Meghan and Harry,” on March 7.
“Winfrey will speak with Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, in a wide-ranging interview, covering everything from stepping into life as a Royal, marriage, motherhood, philanthropic work to how she is handling life under intense public pressure,” the network said in a statement.
The palace spun the yanking of patronages as something that must be done in
accordance with tradition but stressed there are no hard feelings.
“While all are saddened by their decision” not to come home and return to royal duties, they “remain much loved members of the family,” the palace said.
Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, have announced they are expecting a second child in the spring.
The honorary military appointmentsand royal patronages held by Harry and Meghan will be returned to the queen before being redistributed among working members of the royal family.
This is a blow to Harry, certainly.
His life has been very much intertwined with his military service (he did two tours in Afghanistan as a forward air controller and a helicopter pilot) and with his support of British sporting life.
The prince will also no longer serve as captain general of the Royal Marines, a role passed to him from his grandfather, Prince Philip, who had held the post for 64 years.
Gone, too, is Harry’s post as “commodore-in-chief, small ships and diving” in the Royal Navy.