LONDON (AP) – Buckingham Palace confirmed on Friday that Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, will not return to royal duties, and Harry will relinquish his honorary military titles – a decision that makes the separation of the royal family couple.
When Harry and Meghan moved away from real life full-time in March 2020, unhappy with the media scrutiny and the restrictions on their roles, it was agreed that the situation would be reviewed after a year.
Now, and the palace said in a statement that the couple, also known as Duke and Duchess of Sussex, found that “they will not return as working members of the Royal Family. “
It said that Queen Elizabeth II had spoken to Harry, 36, and confirmed “that, by departing from the work of the Royal Family, it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties inherent in a life of public service”.
The palace said that the appointment of Harry as captain-general of the Royal Marines and the titles of other military groups would revert to the queen before being distributed to other members of the family.
Harry served in the British army for a decade, including on the front lines in Afghanistan and maintains a close bond with the military. He founded the Invictus Games competition for wounded soldiers, which was first held in 2014 at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
He will also have to resign as a patron of the Rugby Football Union, Rugby Football League and London Marathon Charitable Trust.
Meghan, 39, will be stripped of her role as a patron of Britain’s National Theater and the Commonwealth Association of Universities.
“While everyone is saddened by their decision, the duke and duchess remain very dear members of the family,” said the palace statement.
American actress Meghan Markle, a former star of the TV legal drama “Suits”, married the queen’s grandson, Harry, at Windsor Castle in May 2018. Her son Archie was born a year later.
In early 2020, Meghan and Harry announced that they were leaving royal duties and moving to North America, citing what they said was the British media’s unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes towards the Duchess, who identifies herself like biracial.
The couple agreed to no longer use the title of “royal highness” or to receive public funds for their work, although it was not clear at the time whether these decisions would be upheld.
They retain their titles as Duke and Duchess, and Harry is still sixth in line to the British throne. Harry and Meghan now live in Santa Barbara, California, and are expecting their second child. The couple recently announced that they would speak with Oprah Winfrey for a TV special to be broadcast next month.
They continue to have a strained relationship with sectors of the British media. Earlier this month, Meghan won a legal victory in a lawsuit against the editor of Mail on Sunday, when a British judge ruled that the newspaper invaded his privacy by publishing part of a letter he wrote to his distant father.
The news of the break with the palace comes when Harry’s grandfather, Prince Philip, 99, is in a London hospital, where he was admitted on Tuesday after feeling ill.
A spokesman for the couple responded to suggestions that Meghan and Harry were not dedicated to duty.
“As evidenced by their work over the past year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the UK and around the world, and have offered their continued support to the organizations they represented, regardless of their official role. ”Said the spokesman in a statement.
“We can all live a life of service. The service is universal. ”