'Great sadness': Prince Harry speaks out for the first time on the loss of his royal title
Queen Elizabeth II's grandson appeared affected Sunday night at a charity dinner in London, where he said he was looking for "a more peaceful life."
It is with "great sadness" but without having "other choice" that he made the decision to withdraw from the British monarchy, finally confided on Sunday January 19 in the evening Prince Harry in a speech to the intimate accents.
"The decision I made for my wife and I was not taken lightly" but after "months of talks, following years of challenges", the Duke of Sussex justified himself to the guests of 'a charity dinner in London.
In this first public address on the subject since the announcement of his withdrawal, he apologized for "not always doing things right", without specifying which ones. “We hoped to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that was not possible, "he explained.
The British press, which put this episode "front page" in its Monday editions, highlighted the grief felt by the royal offspring, "devastated", according to the Daily Express. Some newspapers are projecting themselves into the couple's new life in Canada, which could embark on television production. “Duke and Duchess of Netflix? "Asks the Daily Mail, for example.
A "hard Megxit"
Harry, 35, and his wife Meghan, 38, revealed on January 8 that they wanted to gain financial independence and settle in North America with their son Archie. Without warning Harry's grandmother and father, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles.
If the Duke and Duchess of Sussex initially wanted to keep a foothold in the royal family, the Queen quickly deceived them by announcing on Saturday evening that they would have to give up using "their title of royal highness, given that they are not more active members of the royal family ”.
The tabloids, which accused them of "wanting butter and money from butter", welcomed the fact that the Duke and Duchess, now released from their "royal obligations", could no longer "formally represent the Queen". The Sunday Mirror welcomed the “Queen's ordering a 'hard Megxit',” in reference to the Brexit scheduled for January 31.
The couple's stormy relationship with British newspapers, which Harry called a "mighty force" in his speech on Sunday, weighed on his decision to step back. Accused of racism against the American Métis actress, the tabloid press regularly attacked Meghan with vitriolic articles. Prince Harry spoke of the search for "a more peaceful life" to explain this desire for independence.
Waiver of royal allowance
For the royal family's protocol expert Alastair Bruce, interviewed by The Sun, the Queen has settled the issue with an "iron fist" and the abandonment of the title of Royal Highness amounts to "an abdication", since Harry thus finds himself demoted to the same rank as thirty other British Dukes.
While the couple will retain their titles as Duke and Duchess of Sussex, they are renouncing their royal allowance and will have to reimburse certain public expenses from which they have benefited, including 2.3 million euros used to renovate their residence in the United Kingdom.
"This is absolutely unprecedented," said the Sun Dickie Arbiter, former royal press secretary, noting that "no member of the royal family has ever refunded money", even those who had already been deprived of their royal highness status.
The Daily Telegraph claimed that faced with the cost of the couple's radical life change, Prince Charles will financially support his son for at least a year. The money must "come from his income from private investments," according to the newspaper.
The palace decisions are due to take effect in the spring.
