Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have signalled their intention to ‘step back’ as senior members of the royal family and become financially independent.
The couple, who tied the knot in 2018, announced their decision in a statement on Wednesday evening, saying they will continue to ‘fully support’ the Queen while dividing their time between the UK and North America.
They announced their resignation from royal duties on their joint Instagram page, @sussexroyal, saying the decision came after ‘many months of reflection and internal discussions’.
You can read their full announcement below:
The full statement read:
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.
We look forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course, as we continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties. Until then, please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support. – The Duke and Duchess of Sussex
Buckingham Palace later responded with a statement saying: ‘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 news comes after Prince Harry and Meghan publicly revealed their struggles under the media spotlight last October, with the Suits actor revealing in an ITV documentary that adjusting to royal life had been ‘hard’.
The Duchess of Sussex said, as per BBC:
When I first met my now-husband my friends were really happy because I was so happy. But my British friends said to me, ‘I’m sure he’s great but you shouldn’t do it because the British tabloids will destroy your life’.
When asked if he was worried whether Meghan would face the same scrutiny as his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, Prince Harry said: ‘Everything that she went through, and what happened to her, is incredibly important every single day, and that is not me being paranoid, that is just me not wanting a repeat of the past.’
The couple welcomed their first baby, Archie, on May 6 last year, and took a break from royal duties over Christmas to spend time in Canada as a family.
Kudos to them, and we wish them all the very best with their new journey.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).