The Duke and Duchess of Sussex to Step Back as Senior Royals: January 2020

[ACO]

No idea where to even put this put Harry and Meghan just walked away from being senior royals. Wow. Those 6 weeks clearly meant alot to them and was really needed.

http://sussexroyal.com/

 

[Lumutqueen]

The Duke and Duchess to step back as Senior Royals: January 2020.

Their message;

https://twitter.com/x/status/1214979690663948290

 

[Mbruno]

Just saw the news on CNN. I am shocked.

 

[ACO]

I am thrilled for them. It is clear this has been longed planned and those 6 weeks away was a reflection period for them. Proud of them.

 

[Parrothead]

No idea where to even put this put Harry and Meghan just walked away from being senior royals. Wow. Those 6 weeks clearly meant alot to them and was really needed.

http://sussexroyal.com/

I just saw this and was about to post it. I’m not sure what to think about it, but the fact they say to become “financially independent” struck me as odd. Sounds like they’re wanting to commercialize all things Sussex related which just makes me think they only want to be royal if they can make money off of it.

 

[Mbruno]

I am surprised and shocked by the news, but I guess insiders saw it coming.

It is unclear how that new arrangement will work. It looks like Harry and Meghan want to be free agents , but still keep some sort of official role , which I guess won’t fly with the Palace. I expect them to be cut off, but let’s wait for official announcements from the Queen and the PoW.

 

[Dalriada]

So much for commitment to the Commonwealth..

https://twitter.com/x/status/1214979921300336643

 

[GömdNatt]

I mean...senior royals?

but perhaps this is for the best. Paired down royalty has seemed to work for some of the other countries, even if they are smaller, but it may be best for the British to have just a few members who work.

And I think it has been pretty clear that Harry and Meghan want something different for their son. Good for them.

Good luck to them in their future! I'm so curious to see what role Meghan will carve for herself.

 

[BaiSoSo]

I am surprised and shocked by the news, but I guess insiders saw it coming.

It is unclear how that new arrangement will work. It looks like Harry and Meghan want to be free agents , but still keep some sort of official role , which I guess won’t fly with the Palace. I expect them to be cut off, but let’s wait for official announcements from the Queen and the PoW.

People can only take so much abuse especially when they have done nothing wrong and the abuse the Sussexes have received has been way over the top this past 18 or so months. Like Meghan said life isn't just about surviving... it is about thriving and they weren't able to do that. This will give them more peace and they will be able to do what they do best.

I think this is a huge loss for the BRF as Harry & Meghan have a lot of skills and talent that could have been used by the family and help bring them into the 21st century.

I don't know why one would think it won't fly....pretty sure there have been conversations with the Palace before this and before the break. There are non-working royals who still have their official titles and don on occasion do work for the royal family.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

The York sisters are ready and willing to be senior/working Royals but are not permitted, the Sussexes are senior/working Royals and don't want to be.

Oh, the irony!

 

[Claricecolin]

I can't say I am shocked. I think Harry has wanted a different path since leaving the Army and this was a way out. I also think there have been many threats against his family we were not privy to. I also think he accepted that a vocal portion was not going to accept his wife and continue to "other" her.
I think they will continue to do wonderful work for the Commonwealth and the Crown. It will be on their terms and a balance that works for them. I have a thought about the financial independence part too. While they are both independently wealthy they will have to restructure to some degree for staff and an office of some sort.

 

[ACO]

I guess everyone should be thrilled now though. So many expressed this desire and now it has happened.

 

[Dman]

I’m going to take a little time away from the forums and reflect on what lead up to all of this. I’m too sad at the moment.

Happy chatting and please remain respectful to one another. I’ll be back soon.

 

[tausi]

i think it is for the best. But they are overestimating their popularity to think that they can manage to continue to raise the money needed for them to have a huge impact. The celebrity type of popularity fades very quickly. There is always a new star!!

There is a different respect shown to royals because of their neutrality to political issues.

Good luck to them. I can imagine security expenses alone will be a nightmare.

 

[acdc1]

I’m not shocked at all. This has been a while coming. I wonder if they’ll be in Canada or the US, and I’m assuming that’s where they’ll be raising their children and sending them to school. I do think it’s a shame how separated they’ve become from the rest of the RF.

What I’m wondering is what the family will look like without Harry and Meghan being senior royals once the throne passes to Charles, and before William and Kate’s children are old enough to play a role. Will Anne, and Edward and Sophie, need to keep up their major supporting roles? Will Beatrice and Eugenie or Edward’s children need to step up?

 

[wyevale]

So much for commitment to the Commonwealth..

Quite - 'application' and hard work are clearly anathema to the 'Duchess' - i'm delighted , and millions of Brits will feel the same this evening..

I hope they will be renouncing their Titles, and starting their new life as Mr & Mrs. Mountbatten-Windsor

 

[Marengo]

His father and grandmother must be disappointed in the prince for giving up his duties on a whim.

He has not much education, no work experience, no preparation at all for a proper carreer. How on earth is he supposed to become ‘financially independent’? The only route I see is to cash in on his title and/or nepotism but let’s hope he will surprise in a positive way.

 

[Denville]

This seems very odd.... what do they mean by financially independent?

 

[Pranter]

Not at all shocked. Harry has talked in the past (BEFORE he met Meghan) about how he considered leaving all of it. The pretty much unrelenting pressure since they started dating has been too much for them.

Most of the folks who are being negative about it are some of the same ones who keep saying how unimportant and how unpopular they are so now you get what you want.

It will be interesting to see how they work the engagements/patronages between the two countries (I assume Canada is the other). I think it could be a good path forward for them. Part time Royals or whatever you want to call it.


LaRae

 

[Royaldancer]

It means they have been cut off financially. I don’t think this is voluntary. I think they were asked to leave.

 

[Pranter]

This seems very odd.... what do they mean by financially independent?

Well they both have money, but I assume they mean they will not be receiving funding for at least some of their work related expenses.


LaRae

 

[amaryllus]

Live on his personal money left to him and her own money presumably. Heck, He can get a job if need be! Plenty of minor Royals and Royal relations have them.

But if they happen to seriously think they can sustain their current lifestyle indefinitely on private money they may be in for shock. And for sure using Royal connections for projects, philanthropy and charity should stop.

 

[Princess B]

This announcement comes as a shock. Looks like Meghan is having her cake and eating it too.
Wonder what they’ll do to be financially independent.
If they use their HRH and titles to be financially independent, defeats the purpose.
I’d like them go the Norwegian route and loose the HRH atleast.

It’s sad that Harry is so smitten that he’s forgotten the heritage he is born into.
And if this marriage doesn’t last (like I think), he’ll have nowhere to go.

 

[Lumutqueen]

Their own little royal reporter has some insight into how Meghan and Henry plan to work with the press and media in 2020;

https://twitter.com/x/status/1214986277583511552

 

[Elenath]

Quite - 'application' and hard work are clearly anathema to the 'Duchess' - i'm delighted , and millions of Brits will feel the same this evening..

I hope they will be renouncing their Titles, and starting their new life as Mr & Mrs. Mountbatten-Windsor

Don't you think that's going a bit far. Let's just see what happens before giving up on them completely. The statement doesn't say they will stop working for the Crown. And even if they do, if this works better for them, so what? There are enough royals in the Netherlands who work privately while still doing some charity work for the DRF.

 

[Duchess of Wakanda]

I’m happy for them. This is clearly what they wanted, and I’m happy they’ll be free from the press strain.

 

[acdc1]

His father and grand mother must be disappointed in the prince for giving up his duties on a whim.

He has no education, no work experience, no preparation at all for a proper carreer. How on earth is he supposed to become ‘financially independent’? The only route I see is to cash in on his title.

I’m sure they’re indeed very disappointed, but I have to say I don’t think that this is all on a whim. I think it’s something that they have probably been considering for quite a while. I know that Harry had talked about “leaving it all behind” before he even met Meghan, but I think that if he was with anyone else, he never would have given it up. I think that she’s the driving force to him saying “ok, we’re out.” I think that she doesn’t have a support system in the UK and wants to be back with her friends and mother in North America, and I’ve never gotten the sense that she likes living in the UK all.

 

[Gawin]

Quite - 'application' and hard work are clearly anathema to the 'Duchess' - i'm delighted , and millions of Brits will feel the same this evening..

I'm disappointed and troubled by their decision - as I suspect the Queen is - but I don't think your assessment of the Duchess of Sussex is accurate.

She's clearly a very hard worker who IMO is tired of the constant criticism - some fair and some unfair - and so is her husband.

In fact, I think she would have had an easier time adjusting if she had done less and slowly eased into her new role.

 

[acdc1]

This announcement comes as a shock. Looks like Meghan is having her cake and eating it too.
Wonder what they’ll do to be financially independent.
If they use their HRH and titles to be financially independent, defeats the purpose.
I’d like them go the Norwegian route and loose the HRH atleast.

It’s sad that Harry is so smitten that he’s forgotten the heritage he is born into.
And if this marriage doesn’t last (like I think), he’ll have nowhere to go.

Both of them have quite a bit of personal money on their own, so I’m sure they will be able to live perfectly comfortably.

 

[An Ard Ri]

I'm not that shocked ,there have been signals such as the break in Mid November to early January and the given the sheer viciousness of the media and online warriors towards Meghan I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner.