Prince Harry and Meghan Markle distance themselves from royalty
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have decided to relinquish their leading role in the British royal family to settle part of the year in North America, a shock decision greeted coldly on Wednesday by the palace of Buckingham.
The announcement by the Duke - sixth in succession to the throne - and Duchess of Sussex, who openly spoke of their difficulty coping with media pressure, comes after a year of crises for the Windsors.
"We intend to relinquish [the role of] 'senior' members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to support the Queen," Elizabeth's grandson said in a statement. II and his wife.
"We now plan to divide our time between the United Kingdom and North America," they added, saying they wanted to found a charity and said they had made this decision "after many months of reflection".
This decision took by surprise the royal family, who hoped to be able to start 2020 under better auspices after, by the queen's own admission, a year "full of pitfalls": it was confronted with the irruption of the name of Prince Andrew in the case of the American pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and in a traffic accident caused by Prince Philip, her husband, whose health is fragile.
“Discussions with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage. We understand their desire to take another path, but these are complicated issues that take time to resolve, ”she said in a statement sent by Buckingham Palace.
Queen Elizabeth II, 93, admits being taken aback by the spread of the explosive message of the couple, who had just returned from a stay of several weeks in Canada. Meghan and Harry celebrated Christmas there, far from the queen, with their son Archie, born May 6, 2019, a year after their lavish wedding broadcast by televisions around the world.
Their absence in the photos with the Queen for the holiday season had been read by royal chroniclers as a sign of the tightening around direct descendants to the throne, Prince Charles and his eldest son William.
Media pressure
A former actress, the 38-year-old American lived in Toronto for seven years, where she was filming the series Suits. It was also in this city that the couple had publicly displayed themselves for the first time in 2017.
Meghan and Harry had decided to take an extended vacation after opening up in a documentary in October about their struggles with the media exposure.
The royal couple had drawn sharp criticism from the press by spouting this out during a trip to Africa where they were confronted with a population living in much more dramatic situations, but also when the United Kingdom Uni was tearing itself apart over Brexit.
At first, the tabloids had hailed the arrival of the ex-actress as a breath of fresh air for the royal family. They were quick to turn on her with vitriolic articles, criticizing her behavior after a spate of resignations from Royal Household staff and disguising her as the "capricious Duchess" (Duchess Difficult).
Facing criticism, Harry, 35, filed a series of complaints against the Daily Mail and The Sun tabloids in early October, accusing them of violating his privacy. He then issued a statement saying he feared that "history will repeat itself" and that his wife might fall victim to "the same powerful forces" that led to his mother's death.
Pursued by paparazzi on motorcycles, "Lady Di" died on August 31, 1997 in a car accident in Paris.
Fraternal discord
The tabloid press has also taken hold of the rifts appearing between Harry and his older brother William, second in succession to Queen Elizabeth, blaming them on a disagreement between their wives.
After moving from London's Kensington Palace, where they lived with William and Kate, Harry and Meghan broke up last June with the foundation where the two couples worked together.
"We're definitely on different paths right now, but I'll always be there for him, just as I know he'll always be there for me," Harry said of his older brother, acknowledging "the good and the bad." days ".
