Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are ‘entitled’ to take time off from royal duties because they’re ‘not superhuman,’ claims Archbishop of Canterbury
- Archbishop of Canterbury defended Meghan Markle, 38, and Prince Harry, 35
- Justin Welby said it’s ‘absurd’ to hold them to higher moral standards than others
- Duke and Duchess of Sussex will reportedly take six weeks off from royal duties
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are ‘entitled’ to take time off because they’re ‘not superhuman,’ the Archbishop of Canterbury has claimed.
The Most Reverend Justin Welby told how Prince Harry, 35, and Meghan Markle, 38, are under an immense amount of pressure that is hard for any member of the public to understand.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have a strong personal relationship with the Archbishop, who officiated at their wedding and oversaw the baptism of their son, Archie on July 6, 2019.
Speaking in The Times, he explained: ‘All members of the royal family are under a pressure that none of us outside it can possibly imagine.’
The Archbishop of Canterbury defended Meghan Markle, 38, and Prince Harry, 35 and told how they are ‘entitled’ to take time off. Picturing, during the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding ceremony at St George’s Chapel on May 19, 2018
His comments come after it emerged they will be taking six weeks off royal duties following their explosive documentary filmed during their ten-day tour of southern Africa, which detailed their struggles of being in the spotlight.
The family – including son Archie – are likely to spend their first Christmas with the Queen and other members of the Royal Family at Sandringham in Norfolk.
It’s been reported they will then fly to Los Angeles next month to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland.
The Archbishop went on to say that if royal duty was looked at as a normal job, Prince Harry and Meghan should be ‘entitled’ to take leave as anyone would.
His Most Reverend Justin Welby added that they royal couple are ‘not superhuman’ and should be able to take time off like anyone else in a job. Pictured, the royal couple with son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor during their royal tour of South Africa on September 25, 2019 in Cape Town
He also called it ‘absurd’ and ‘unjust’ to hold the royal family to higher moral standards than others.
‘They’re not superhuman,’ he explained. ‘They’re a very remarkable group of people, all of them. But you can’t lay that kind of extra burden on people.’
News of Harry and Meghan’s six-week break comes shortly after the explosive ITV documentary aired last week.
Speaking candidly in ITV’s Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, an emotional Meghan told how she tried to cope with the pressures of her new life since marrying Harry in May 2018 with a ‘stiff upper lip’.
She went on to explain how she struggled with the barrage of criticism she experienced after becoming a new mother under the glare of the media spotlight – and added she and Prince Harry are ‘just surviving’ the intense media attention.
And when asked by presenter Tom Bradby if he had yet ‘found peace’, the Duke of Sussex said the grief of his mother’s death still remains – and described it as ‘a wound that festers’.
Just days later, the Archbishop of Canterbury joined Prince Harry to host a workshop about mental health at Lambeth Palace.
The Archbishop of Canterbury (pictured far right) took part in a workshop discussing mental health with Prince Harry days after the Sussexes’ explosive ITV documentary aired
His Most Reverend Justin Welby added that Meghan and Harry are ‘under a pressure none of us outside of it can possibly imagine. Pictured, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex during a roundtable discussion on gender equality with the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust and One Young World at Windsor Castle on October 25, 2019