Meghan and Harry step away from royal life
Having just returned to London, and to public life, after a six-week break, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have announced that they are stepping down as ‘senior’ royals.
In a post released to the @sussexroyal Instagram account, the couple said, ‘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.’
‘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 to which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter.’
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“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 For more information, please visit sussexroyal.com (link in bio) Image PA
A post d by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on Jan 8, 2020 at 10:33am PST
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The news ties in with what a quarter of the public feel: in the December issue, Tatler commissioned a special survey on the Duke and Duchess to coincide with Meghan appearing on the cover. In it, 23 per cent of people agreed that the couple might be better off moving to Los Angeles.
So unconventional as the move may be, it is perhaps unsurprising, considering the royal couple’s historical difficulties with the press and their recent break from public life.
In response to the couple’s announcement, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson 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 have just returned from their six-week hiatus, during which the royal spotlight has shifted firmly from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to full beam on Prince Andrew.
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In a formal Buckingham Palace press release that was dispatched on Monday night, the royal couple announced that they planned to visit Canada’s High Commissioner in London, Her Excellency Janice Charette, to express their gratitude. They carried out a visit on Tuesday afternoon.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex put on a show of intimacy and affection as they appeared for the first time, holding hands. They were warmly greeted by Ms Charette and her deputy, Sarah Fountain Smith. Meghan looked rested and radiant in a mix of caramel colours, a coat from Reiss and a shimmering skirt from Massimo Dutti.
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex travelled straight to Canada House from The Hubb, the Grenfell community kitchen project in West London that the the Duchess of Sussex collaborated with on the Together cookery book. They vowed to get stuck back into work today after returning ‘energised and excited’ from the holiday spent mostly in Canada.
The royal diary doesn’t have any details of further engagements for the Duke and Duchess in the next month. Buckingham Palace told the Daily Mail that Harry and Meghan will be undertaking more royal events in the coming weeks, but were unable to confirm exactly what they would be. The reasons for this initial vagueness have now become clear, in light of today’s announcement.
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This type of excursion has never been carried out before, but the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have rarely been ones to follow the well-trodden path. The trip was deemed private and no official engagements took place while they were away. In the release they explained that they wanted to meet Canada’s High Commissioner and other staff to ‘thank them for the warm Canadian hospitality and support they received during their recent stay’.
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The couple were previously last seen in public together on Remembrance Sunday when they joined other royals in Whitehall. Harry subsequently undertook an additional solo public engagement before they clocked off for Christmas and head to Vancouver for a break with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, and their son, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, now eight-months-old. A spokesman detailed that they were taking ‘extended family time’ after a year in which they both struggled with the burden of critical media attention.
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The spokesman also said that after spending the last two Christmases with the royals in Norfolk, that the Duchess was keen to spend time with her own mother. It was later revealed that they were staying at a £10.7 million waterfront mansion in one of the most idyllic spots on Vancouver Island.
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Meghan lived in Toronto when she was starring in the US television drama Suits and has previously described Canada as like a second home. It is thought that the couple are almost certain to undertake an official tour of Canada in the near future, possibly this year.
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