Harry and Meghan lost their royal highness titles and monarchy funds
It was announced by Buckingham Palace, after negotiations for an agreement to free the couple from their royal scheme were bogged down.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, lost their royal funds and titles of royal highness in exchange for their freedom from the Royal Family. This was announced this Saturday by Buckingham Palace. But they will continue to maintain the status of dukes. At the same time, they will reimburse the funds for the remodeling of Frogmore Cottage, the house that the sovereign gave them and in which they lived only six months before their departure to Canada for six weeks of vacation. On that trip they decided to give up their formal activities, which caused a huge family and monarchical crisis. Harry and Meghan no longer speak to the Dukes of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton.
The announcement was made this Saturday at 17.40, British time, by Buckingham Palace, after negotiations between them and the courtiers were held on Friday night. Nobody rules out that there has been a direct intervention by Queen Elizabeth to accelerate a solution, because she did not want this scandal to continue to overshadow the activities of the Court of Windsor and its operation. Prince Charles must attend the Holocaust Museum celebrations in Israel and the Dukes of Cambridge will begin another historic trip to Ireland. And both missions were going to be overshadowed by this crisis.
"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are grateful to His Majesty and the Royal Family for their support as they embark on a new chapter in their lives," they wrote in a statement.
“As has been agreed in this new arrangement, they understand that they have been required to step back from their actual obligations, including their military positions. They will not continue to receive more public funds for their real obligations, "the statement said.
“With the Queen's blessing, the Sussexes will maintain their private patronage and associations. While they will no longer be able to formally represent the Queen, the Sussexes have made it clear that they will continue to uphold Her Majesty's values, ”the palace document continues.
They then announce that Harry and Meghan will not use their royal highness titles, as happened when Princess Diana and Fergie, Duchess of York, divorced the queen's children. A possibility that had been initially ruled out by negotiators because of the resentments they create.
But the Sussexes were willing to give up their royal highness status if the price was their freedom, to educate their son as they pleased, and to be financially independent from the crown by running their own businesses.
"The Sussexes are no longer going to use their Royal Highness titles as members of the Royal Family," the statement said.
The expenses that taxpayers paid to remodel Frogmore Cottage, their home in Windsor, will be reimbursed by them. "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have a shared desire to pay the Sovereign Grant's expenses for the reconstruction of Frogmore Cottage, which will remain their home in Britain," says Buckingham Palace.
The much disputed security of the dukes is a matter of the state and not of the monarchy. Buckingham Palace does not comment on the details of the security arrangements. It is an independent process to determine the need for publicly funded security, ”the statement said. Until now, they had British security on their trips abroad.
"This new model will start in the European spring of 2020", that is to say from March, April and May of this year, according to the statement.
After difficult hours, where the Buckingham courtiers and the representatives of the Sussexes could not reach a common agreement on titles and security, the Queen and Prince Charles intervened directly.
Queen Elizabeth released her own statement, admitting that these negotiations take a long time and are not current. But she chose once again to use an affectionate tone with her grandson, but martial with her Royals obligations as sovereign.
“Following several months of conversations and more recent discussions, I am delighted that together we have found a constructive and supportive way for my grandson and his family. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be very dear members of my family, ”she wrote.
The sovereign acknowledged "the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny in the past two years and I support their desire for a more independent life."
"I want to thank you for your dedicated work in this country, the Commonwealth and beyond and I am particularly very proud of how Meghan quickly became part of our family," said the sovereign, in a document once again very personal and warm towards his grandson, Harry, his great-grandson Archie and Meghan.
"It is the hope of all my family that today's agreements allow them to start a new happy and peaceful life," concluded the queen.
Beyond her warm words, the sovereign once again chose monarchy over family. Formally the Dukes of Sussex "abdicated" to the Court of Windsor, although they remain members of the reigning family. The Sussexes' idea of being Royal hybrids or "part time" didn't work. And Harry lost something that a soldier like him would have preferred to keep: his role as patron of regiments and military associations.
Elizabeth II chose her duties over her affections so that the nightmare of the abdication of King Edward VIII, who left the crown when he decided to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson, does not contaminate his reign again. She drew a line for her own grandson on how to be a private citizen but not a Royal.
Prince Harry personally negotiated the deal with his staff and the palace. It is presumed that he will soon leave for Canada to meet Meghan and her son Archie, who remain in a rented residence on Vancouver Island.
It is not known where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will eventually settle. If it will be in Vancouver, where Meghan has found a house on the water, or in Toronto, where she lived for seven years when she was filming the series Suits. It is also unclear what their immigration status will be in Canada and how they will deal with security. 77% of Canadians do not want to pay for it. But they have welcomed her and respect the privacy that the Sussexes are seeking for themselves and their son.
