Royal couple gives up privileges
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Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle will give up their royal titles and public funding as part of a settlement with the Queen to start a new life away from the British monarchy.
The announcement from Buckingham Palace on Saturday follows more than a week of intense private talks aimed at managing the fallout of the globetrotting couple’s shock resignation from front-line royal duties.
It means Queen Elizabeth II’s grandson Harry and his American TV actress wife Meghan will stop using the titles “royal highness” — the same fate that befell his late mother Princess Diana after her divorce from Prince Charles in 1996.
“Following many months of conversations and more recent discussions, I am pleased that together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family,” the 93-year-old monarch said in a statement.
“I recognize the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life.”
Her comments referred to battles with the media that prompted Harry and Meghan to sue several newspapers in October over intrusions into their private lives.
The Queen said she was “particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family” and wished the couple “a happy and peaceful new life.”
However, Meghan’s father Thomas Markle has accused his daughter of “cheapening” the British royal family, in part of an interview released yesterday.
“This is like one of the greatest long-living institutions ever,” he said. “They are destroying it. They are cheapening it. They’re making it shabby ... They are turning it into a Walmart with a crown.”
The statement said: “As agreed in this new arrangement, they understand that they are required to step back from royal duties, including official military appointments.
“They will no longer receive public funds for royal duties.”
The Palace would not comment on who ends up paying for Harry and Meghan’s security detail in Canada, where the couple are expected to spend much of their time — an issue of intense public debate.
“They are now Mr and Mrs Ordinary,” public relations consultant Mark Borkowski told the UK’s PA news agency.
“It’s still going to be difficult, but not having the royal mark, they can be more free in terms of what they choose to fund them.”
The couple are dedicated to environmental causes and are looking to develop their charitable foundation as part of a “progressive new role.”
Announcing their decision, the couple said: “We have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution.
“We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America.”
Their announcement caught the royal family by surprise and created a media sensation in Britain and the wider world.
The Queen’s ruling drew immediate comparisons to King Edward VIII’s abdication in 1936. He married American socialite Wallis Simpson the following year and spent much his remaining life abroad.
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