LONDON – Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, ended their split with the British royal family.
Just over a year after the couple announced that they would “walk away” from their royal duties, and days after revealing that they were expecting their second child, Buckingham Palace said on Friday that they would not return as working members of the real family.
“While everyone is saddened by their decision, the duke and duchess remain very dear members of the family,” the newspaper said in a statement.
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After a conversation with Harry, Queen Elizabeth II “wrote confirming that by leaving the royal family’s work it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties inherent in a life of public service,” the statement said.
“The honorary military appointments and royal sponsorships held by the Duke and Duchess will therefore be returned to Her Majesty,” said the statement, adding that they would be redistributed among working members of the royal family.
A spokesman for Harry and Meghan said they remained “committed to their duty and service to the UK and around the world, and offered their continued support to the organizations they played regardless of their official role”.
“We can all live a life of service,” added the spokesman. “The service is universal.”
The couple surprised the British public when they announced that they intended to break up with the royal family in January 2020, saying they planned to split their time between the UK and North America.
It was then agreed that the situation would be reviewed after one year.
Since then, the couple has signed multi-million dollar deals with Spotify and Netflix.
Since their marriage in May 2018, the couple has repeatedly clashed with the British tabloid press and Harry had already criticized his wife’s coverage that many considered racist.
Earlier this month, Meghan won a privacy lawsuit against a British media company that published parts of a letter she wrote to her distant father, Thomas Markle.
She told the London Supreme Court that the media intrusion had caused her “very real sadness” and damaged relationships.
It also emerged in legal documents that she felt “unprotected by the institution” of the royal family while being featured in the press during the pregnancy of her son, Archie, born in May 2019.
Meghan revealed that she suffered a miscarriage in July and wrote about the loss in an opinion piece in the New York Times in November.
The couple will also be interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in a 90-minute primetime special scheduled to air on CBS on March 7. The move has undoubtedly caused even more problems in a family that prefers not to speak publicly about personal matters.
This is news in development. Please check again for updates.
