Harry and Meghan: What exactly are the Duke and Duchess of Sussex giving up by ceasing to use the title of His Royal Highness?
The future of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is drawing as the days go by, as if it were a serialized novel.
The decision of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to depart from their duties in the Crown, announced by the couple on January 8, took the royal family itself by surprise, which undertook a series of actions to regain control and try to erase the image initial bewilderment.
After several meetings and conversations within the Royal House, the communication made this Saturday by Buckingham Palace was reached: Harry and Meghan will no longer have the title of His Royal Highness and will not receive public funding.
What is really changing and what are the dukes giving up?
Loss of titles
Harry and Meghan will no longer use the title of His Royal Highness (His / Her Royal Highness) as of next spring (boreal) "since they are no longer active members of the royal family," according to the statement from the Palace of Buckingham.
The couple will cease to receive public funds from the sovereign budget distributed by Queen Elizabeth II, will depart from royal commitments, including military acts, and will cease to represent the monarch.
Harry will also lose the title of captain general of the Royal Marines that he received from his grandfather, Prince Philip, who held it from 1953 to 2017, and will no longer be an honorary commander of the Royal Air Forces.
He also resigns from his role as youth ambassador for the Commonwealth.
The statement notes that the prince and his wife expressed their desire to return the public funds of the so-called Sovereign Grant or sovereign grant that they used to reform their mansion of Frogmore Cottage, on the grounds of Windsor Castle, outside London.
Are they still dukes?
Yes, Harry and Meghan will remain the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, a title they received from the Queen on their wedding day, May 18, 2018.
As Dukes of Sussex, the couple will be able to maintain their private sponsorships to organizations and social projects they have sponsored so far, 14 in the case of Harry and four in the case of Meghan.
Although they will no longer receive public funds, Prince Charles of England, Harry's father, will continue to offer them private financial support, a Crown source stated.
Although they cannot formally represent the queen, the couple made it clear that everything they do will respect Her Majesty's values.
And Harry stops being a prince?
No, Harry will remain a prince, because he was by birth, and will maintain his sixth position in the line of succession to the throne.
The prince had - also from birth - the right to the title of His Royal Highness, which is received by the princes and princesses heirs to the throne.
This is the one that will stop using in the coming months and can only be restored by a monarch.
In the British monarchy, titles are given to members of the royal family, either by inheritance or by marriage.
Her Majesty is the title of Queen Elizabeth II, while her husband Philip holds that of His Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh.
A clean break
Analysis by Jonny Dymond, BBC Correspondent for Royal Affairs
They will always be, in the Queen's words, "much loved members" of the family.
But that's pretty much it. No royal title, no royal duties or military positions, no official travel, spending most of the time in Canada, and no public money.
It's hard to imagine a cleaner break than this. Harry and Meghan are still members of the royal family, but they are effectively not "royalty."
The first ad featured a much more mixed life, one in which perhaps Harry and Meghan would carry on with some royal duties and split their time between the UK and Canada.
But the contradictions and conflicts of interest were too many.
There are still many details to discuss exhaustively.
And the whole situation will be reviewed after a year.
But a new life awaits Harry and Meghan: They will be celebrities, to be sure, but a different kind of royalty.
Doubts that persist
Neither Buckingham Palace nor the Queen, who issued her own statement in a more personal tone, detailed how the safety of Harry and Meghan in their new lives will be organized or financed.
Nor has it been defined whether the dukes will be able to keep the SussexRoyal brand that they registered before their unexpected announcement and which gives their website its name: sussexroyal.com.
It is precisely this page that they used on January 8 to express their wishes for change.
And they have also turned to her this Saturday to ask for understanding from those who want to know immediately how their future is going to be defined:
"In line with Her Majesty The Queen's statement, we will update information on the roles and work of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in due course. We appreciate your patience and invite you to explore this page for the current work of Her Royal Highnesses." .
