Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s bombshell announcement that they are ‘stepping back’ as senior royals shocked the world and left the Palace ‘deeply disappointed.’
The extraordinary statement, released without consulting the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William, set out their plans for the future, telling how they want to ‘carve out a progressive new role within this institution.’
Royal aides said they had pressed the ‘nuclear button’ making their intentions known in the six paragraph declaration posted on their new sussexroyal.com website just days after returning from a six-week break in Canada with their son Archie.
Sources said they spent weeks ‘secretly plotting ‘ their decision during their trip, in what one insider branded a ‘staggering level of deceit.’
The statement told how they wanted to balance their time between the UK and North America, ‘continuing to honour our duty to the Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages’.
They said they want to become ‘financially independent’ how they want to raise their son ‘with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born’ spoke of a ‘new charitable entity’ and that they will ‘continue to collaborate with Her Majesty the Queen.’
But the shock announcement, posted at around 6.30pm last night, has left more questions than answers.
Who helped them come to this decision, what exactly does it mean when they say they want to be financially independent, and how will they split their time between North America and Britain?
Here MailOnline looks in detail at the 195 word statement and what it means for the royal family, Britain, and the many charities they support.
‘After many months of reflection and internal discussions we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution’
1) Who did they discuss this with and what do they mean by ‘progressive role’?
In recent months the couple have made no secret of their struggles with living under the intense public scrutiny that comes in their roles as senior royals.
Just 19 months ago they wed in a televised ceremony in the grand surroundings of St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, watched by millions at home. And there was joy with the birth of their son Archie in May last year.
But what followed was rows over privacy, reports of a ‘royal rift’ between Harry and William, and the launch of legal action and an attack on the press which overshadowed an official royal tour.
It was during the tour in October that they spoke to ITV’s Tom Bradby about their difficulties of being in the public eye. Meghan told the documentary: ‘It’s not enough to just survive something, that’s not the point of life. You have got to thrive.’
Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry Prince Harry and Meghan Duchess of Sussex visit to Canada House on Tuesday before their announcement that they would be ‘stepping back’
The statement suggests the decision has been long in the making, and could possibly have started after the birth of the royal baby, as controversy erupted over fact the birthplace was kept secret, and the christening was held in private.
The couple also imply that they have spoken about their concerns with other members of the royal family – claims that have been roundly rubbished today, as royal aides revealed the Palace were given no warning of their plans. Even his brother Prince William was not believed to have been consulted.
One said: ‘It’s deeply unfair to the Queen who doesn’t deserve to be treated this way. It is a shoddy way to treat her. The family understands that they want to do something different and is perfectly willing to help them. People are just devastated.’
They recently returned from six weeks in Canada, where they took a break from royal duties, and where they spent time with Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland, suggesting she may have had an influence over their final decision.
The statement also describes a ‘progressive new role within the institution’ which could be seen as a slight against the Palace.
Insiders close to the couple previously spoke of how they have ‘single handedly modernised the monarchy’ so this could be a backhanded way of calling for change.
The shock statement, posted at around 6.30pm last night, has left more questions than answers
‘We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.’
2) What exactly does being ‘financially independent’ mean for Harry and Meghan, and independent of whom? How will they continue to support the Queen?
The Duke and Duchess’ new official website Sussexroyal.com said the couple will no longer receive funding through the Sovereign Grant, the £82millon that taxpayers give to the Queen every year for her family’s royal duties, security, staff and maintaining their palaces and houses.
But critics today branded this idea a ‘fallacy’ because by keeping their titles and privileges a slew of public money will still come their way for the rest of their lives.
Royal commentator Penny Junor said today: ‘The taxpayer is not going to be happy. The taxpayer grumbles enough about paying anything for the royal family.
‘This will just be a running sore. I don’t think it’s been properly thought through. They are not working for themselves’.
Some of the £82million pot of money is also used to pay for Harry and Meghan’s official royal travel.
Their website says they will still ‘proudly’ carry out official overseas visits in support of the Queen, meaning they will probably continue to claim those costs.
In the last financial year they claimed £130,000 for travel costs, including £80,000 alone for their trip to Australia, New Zealand and Pacific islands such as Tonga and Fiji at the end of 2018.
Harry and Meghan have several multiple strands of income and significant personal wealth but while they have quit as frontline royals they will still receive large amounts of cash from the taxpayer including travel, security and from Prince Charles’ royal estate
And if they spend much of the year criss-crossing the Atlantic to carry out duties and support UK charities these costs will likely increase as they pay for first class flights for them and their team of staff, including private secretary and nanny for Archie.
The couple have also dodged whether they will shun the gigantic annual payments from his father. Prince Charles gave his sons £4.9million via his private £1.2billion Duchy of Cornwall estate in the past year, which many regard as a public asset that also generates huge amounts of money because of its links to the royal family.
Harry is estimated to earn up to £2.25million a year and Charles now faces a big decision about whether to cut off that flow of money.
And when he becomes king, the Duchy will be inherited by Prince William as heir to the throne, meaning he will also have the final say on whether to reduce or even end Harry’s largest royal income.
The couple also admit that they will need security for the rest of their lives, which again, will cost taxpayers.
The couple will need to strike lucrative commercial deals to maintain the lavish lifestyle to which they are comfortably accustomed, especially as Meghan has no income anymore and Harry’s only salary was around £35,000 in the Army.
The Duke is said to be worth around £30million after inheriting from his mother Diana and the Queen Mother – but some of this is said to be tied up in trust funds until he is 40 and other investments.
Until now Harry and Meghan have been ‘prohibited from earning any income in any form’ – as they pointed out last night on their official website.
Defending their new status, they stressed: ‘There is precedent for this structure and it applies to other current members of the Royal Family who support the monarch and also have full-time jobs external to their commitment to the monarchy.’
Charles paid £4.9million to his sons from his duchy income last year, of which slightly less than half is believed to have gone to Harry.
Yesterday the Sussexes said the money from Charles amounted to 95 per cent of their office expenditure.
They added: ‘The remaining 5 per cent of funding for the Office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, covering costs associated with employing members of their official office, is received through the Sovereign Grant.’
The couple stressed that ‘wherever possible and unless advised otherwise on security grounds’, they travel using ‘commercial carriers, local trains and fuel-efficient vehicles’.
Harry’s other wealth comes from his estimated £20million inheritance from his mother Princess Diana. He also banked around £7million from his great-grandmother the Queen Mother, who paid it into a trust fund in 1994.
Meghan’s net worth of around £4million came from having earned around £37,000 per episode as an actress in the US drama Suits.
‘It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment.’
3) Who is ‘your’, and who has encouraged them ‘over the last few years’ to make their decision to step down as senior royals
It is unclear in this part of the statement who they are referring to when they reference the encouragement they have received over the ‘last few years.’
In recent months the tide of public opinion has slowly turned against the Duke and Duchess as they launched attacks against the press, faced hypocrisy claims over their use of private jets despite lecturing on climate change and issues over privacy do to with baby Archie and his christening.
It came to the fore in October last year when in an ITV documentary Meghan admitted motherhood was a ‘struggle’ due to intense interest from the media. Prince Harry also responded to reports of a rift between him and his brother William by saying they were on ‘different paths’.
It came to the fore in October last year when in an ITV documentary Meghan admitted to journalist Tom Bradby (pictured) that motherhood was a ‘struggle’ due to intense interest from the media
In October, the duchess began legal action against the Mail on Sunday over a claim that it unlawfully published one of her private letters to her father. And the duke also began legal action against the owners of the Sun, the defunct News of the World, and the Daily Mirror, in relation to alleged phone-hacking.
Prince Harry also released a statement, saying: ‘I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.’
The duke and duchess moved out of Kensington Palace, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge live, in 2018 to set up their family home in Windsor.
And they later split from the charity they shared with Prince William and Kate to set up their own charitable projects.
It is therefore unlikely William will not have had any say in their decision, and as it was reported today the rest of the royal family, including the Queen were not informed before the shock announcement was made last night.
According to the Evening Standard, Harry defied clear instructions from the Queen not to make the announcement after he requested a meeting with her at Sandringham.
It was also reported that Prince Charles and Prince William were only sent a copy of Harry and Meghan’s statement ’10 minutes’ before it was released and without any further consultation.
‘We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America‘
4) How will this work logistically for them? How will they divide their time between the UK and North America?
The couple say they will be balancing their time between the UK and North America. But exactly where they will call home is not yet known.
They currently live in Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, and are expected to continue to base themselves there when in Britain.
Taxpayers paid £2.4 million to renovate Harry and Meghan’s official residence, which the couple moved into just nine months ago.
But they will need to set up base in North America, whether that be in the US or Canada, where the couple recently enjoyed a six week break from royal duties.
The couple said they will seek permission for continued use of Frogmore cottage, which they moved in to nine months ago and which underwent a taxpayer funded £2.4million refurbishment from the Queen, through the Sovereign Grant.
But after announcing they would not be receiving the Sovereign Grant, it has been suggested that they could be forced to pay rent to keep hold of the cottage.
In a statement on their new website sussexroyal.com, they say: Frogmore Cottage will continue to be the property of Her Majesty the Queen.
The couple will keep Frogmore Cottage (above) that was gifted to them by the Queen
‘The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will continue to use Frogmore Cottage – with the permission of Her Majesty The Queen – as their official residence as they continue to support the Monarchy, and so that their family will always have a place to call home in the United Kingdom.’
Graham Smith, chief executive of the campaign group Republic, said: ‘It’s not just Frogmore Cottage – they’re going to be relying on the Metropolitan Police to provide security.
‘I certainly think they owe the taxpayer a refund. They have spent £2.4m on refurbishing their house on the taxpayer.
‘It was going to be their home and now they’ve decided to live elsewhere so we need that money back. They need to abandon their claim to that house.’
They could decide to settle in California, and Los Angeles in particular, where Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland lives. Meghan is said to consider LA home, and many of her friends are based there.
Doria is also not thought to want to relocate to the UK, so moving to the US to be closer to her could be an option.
Meghan has previously spoken of her love for LA, saying: ‘It’s a city of transients – people coming from all over the world, searching out the Hollywood dream.
‘Life in my LA is all about taking care of your mind and spirit just as much as your body.’
The couple have recently returned from a six week break in Canada in a £10million waterfront mansion on Vancouver Island, sparking speculation they could live there.
Meghan lived in Toronto for six years while filming Suits and it is the city where they enjoyed a secret five-month courtship before their relationship was revealed to the world in October 2016.
It also raises questions over security – they would need teams of bodyguards in both North America and Britain – and who pays for this remains to be seen.
5) What does splitting their lifestyle between North America and Britain mean for their Carbon Footprint?
Splitting their time between the US and North America will mean Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be forced to spend a considerable amount of time flying between the two.
How much time they will spend on either continent is not known, but if, as they suggest, they continue to ‘honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages’ they will need to make regular visits back to Britain.
The couple yesterday said that in their new roles they would travel via commercial air carriers, local trains and fuel-efficient vehicles ‘unless advised otherwise on security grounds’.
Who will pick up the cost? It has been suggested by the couple that they want to be ‘financially independent’ so they could pick up the cost themselves. But what about their security detail?
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle watched Wheelchair Tennis at the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto, Canada on 25 September 2017 – in what marked their first public appearance together
This may be picked up by the British taxpayer through the Sovereign Grant – and they would also need to be on the plane.
The amount of flying they need to do has raised concerns about the impact to the environment and what their carbon footprint will be.
And they are no stranger to controversy over their use of air travel.
In the summer over their use of private jets after taking four flights in 11 days, despite championing environmental causes.
Sir Elton John escalated the situation by stepping in to defend them, saying he provided them with a private flight to ‘maintain a high level of much-needed protection’.
Harry explained his use of private planes, saying he spends ‘99% of my life’ using commercial flights, but occasionally needs to ensure ‘my family are safe’.
Figures show that one person flying first class on a return commercial flight from London to Toronto contributes 6.77 tonnes of CO2 to the earth’s atmosphere.
This would mean even if Harry, Meghan and Archie were to go on just one return trip, which is unlikely given their announcement, their total carbon footprint would be 20.31 tonnes.
Carbon footprint calculators do not factor in private jets, but they generate an estimated seven times more emissions per person than if they had flown commercially.
‘This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born’
6) How will Archie be raised in both the UK and Canada. Where will he go to school?
By announcing they want Archie to be raised with an ‘appreciation for royal tradition’ they potentially open themselves up to criticism – it is this royal tradition that they have decided to leave for good.
And how Archie will fare in this new set up, and where and how he will be educated is open for question and hasn’t been addressed by either Harry and Meghan.
With the couple planning to divide their time between the UK and North America, Archie could be educated in England, the US, Canada, or all three.
The Duke and and Duchess of Sussex with their baby son Archie. Questions have been raised over where and how he will be educated
If Archie is educated in Canada, it will mark a departure from the the history of Royals attending grand British public schools – Princes Harry and William both attended Eton College.
Canada boasts 91 independent schools, including Lakefield College School which bills itself as ‘the best day and boarding’ establishment in the country, and is steeped in Royal history.
The Ontario school, which charges eye-watering fees of up to £41,000, was attended by Archie’s great-uncle Prince Andrew in 1978 and Prince Philip visited in 1969 to present Duke of Edinburgh awards.
Exactly how Archie will be schooled is a question now posed by experts, amid fears his education may now suffer.
Home-schooling is the ‘obvious option’ when it comes to the education of baby Archie in their new transatlantic life, an education expert claims.
A parenting expert says it’s crucial the couple prioritise quality time with their son so that their lifestyle doesn’t unsettle him.
Edward Williams, author of ‘Is your school lying to you? Get the career you want. Get the life you deserve’, told MailOnline: ‘Private tutoring is the obvious option.
‘But, for the couple who have been so enthusiastically outspoken about giving him a normal life, not having the opportunity to have a more traditional school experience – learning to make friends, learning the absolutely essential social skills to thrive in his future – would be a betrayal of the very idea of stepping back from public life in the first place.’
Parenting expert Elizabeth O’Shea, who runs the website parent4success.com, added: ‘If you’re going to go down the home schooling route, it’s very important that Archie is socialised, that he has children that he can interact with and play with and learn from and be with because part of being at school is about those social skills,’ she said.
‘That’s a huge part of primary school, learning social skills, learning about relationship, conflict, playing with other children, and those things are really important.’
7. Will they continue to have security and will it cost the taxpayer?
The Duke and Duchess appear to think they will continue to have security.
The minimum of six armed bodyguards are provided by Scotland Yard and are estimated to cost at £600,000 in salaries and up to £400,000 in flights, accommodation and expenses as they travel around the globe.
Sussexroyal.com, referring to armed security by the Metropolitan Police mandated by the Home Office, said: ‘The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are classified as internationally protected people which mandates this level of security.’
However non-senior royals generally don’t have full-time royal protection officers.
Prince Harry and Meghan’s security detail head to Frogmore House in Windsor today
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie previously faced criticism over the use of taxpayers’ funding for police protection
The Duke of York now pays for their security himself.
The undisclosed cost of guarding the royal family as a whole is estimated to be more than £100 million a year.
Private protection officers, known as PPOs, are employed to guard their ‘principal’ around the clock. They work in pairs and if the couple are travelling separately or attending separate engagements it will require at least four of them to do the job.
If Harry and Meghan undertake a large amount of cross-continental travel, this will also make the task of their security detail more complex. Any new routes must be scouted out ahead of time by their bodyguards to identify any possible threats.
Any plans to travel among members of the public will also involve additional scrutiny by their security team.
‘Continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages’
8) Will they continue to be patrons of all of the charities listed against their name and will the charities still want them?
The couple insist that they will continue to honour their patronages.
They have more than a dozen organisations they are patrons of, ranging from the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust to the Rugby Football Union and Rhino Conservation in Botswana.
It is unclear what the future holds for their relationships with other charities after they revealed plans for a ‘new charitable entity’ of their own.
Prince Harry and Meghan unveiled a slick new website just moments after announcing they were stepping back from royal duties. In a statement released on the website they said they wanted to ‘continue to honour our patronages’
Questions remain about how much time they will have left to dedicate to other charities once they launch their own this year.
Prince Harry is a patron of several branches of the Armed Forces, including RAF Honington and the Royal Marines.
The Ministry of Defence told MailOnline the Duke’s patronage is a matter ‘for the Palace’ to comment on.
WellChild, which offers supports to chronically ill children and their families, said: ‘From our perspective it’s business as usual. They have already said they are honouring their patronages.’
‘…including the launch of our new charitable entity. We look forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course’
9) What will their charitable entity do, how will it make money and how much will it make?
The Duke and Duchess announced that they will set up a new ‘charitable entity’ as they step back from royal duties. But how it will make money and how much money it will make has not been addressed.
On their new Sussex Royal website it states: ‘In 2020, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex plan to shape their charitable entity to respond to these pressing needs.
‘After carefully considering a number of foundation models, and having researched the incredible work of many well known and lesser known foundations, The Duke and Duchess are actively working to create something different,
‘A charitable entity that will not only help complement these efforts, but also advance the solutions the world needs most.’
They added that they will ‘continue to priortise’ the good causes and patronages they support.
It is not clear where the new charity would be based, but last night’s statement said they would be sharing the ‘full details of this exciting next step in due course’.
‘We look forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course, as we continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties’
10) Will there be a backlash against their use of the term ‘collaborate’ in reference to the Queen?
Royal experts and senior aides have blasted the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to quit, with one calling it ‘a violation of the way the family operates.’
Sources claimed that Prince Harry had ignored crystal-clear orders from the Queen on the subject, after she instructed him not to make announcement about his future plans at this time.
And the use of the term ‘collaborate’ could further ignite frictions within the royal household.
It dismisses the fact that they have overseen the fact that the Queen is in overall control and her orders should be followed.
Sources claimed that Prince Harry had ignored crystal-clear orders from the Queen (pictured at Harry and Meghan’s wedding in May 2018) after she instructed him not to make announcement about his future plans at this time
It is understood that Harry had requested a meeting with the Queen at Sandringham as soon as he arrived back in the UK with Meghan and their son Archie this weekend, following a six-week Christmas break to Canada.
The Queen offered to meet the Duke – which was blocked by courtiers – but she still made an explicit request to her grandson that he first discuss his future plans in detail with his father, the Prince of Wales.
But the couple defied the order, the Evening Standard reported, going ahead with the announcement and ‘pressing the nuclear button’ on their royal careers, with William and Charles allegedly receiving a copy of the statement just 10 minutes beforehand.
A senior royal source said the Queen and her family were ‘deeply disappointed’ by the news, while another said the royals were ‘shocked, saddened and downright furious’ at the couple.
Pictured: The statement from Buckingham Palace following Harry and Meghan’s social media announcement that they would be stepping down from senior Royal duties
Buckingham Palace issued a curt response afterwards, saying: ‘Discussions with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage.
‘We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through.’
Biographer Penny Junor said the choice ‘echoes Diana’ when she announced after she separated from Prince Charles that she was stepping down.
She said: ‘The problem is they’re not working for themselves, they are working for a family firm and to be making announcements of this sort without consulting is beyond bizarre.’
American royal watcher Sally Bedell Smith said Harry should ‘know that you can’t just go off and make decisions without taking advice’.
She told USA Today: ‘For them to have cooked this up all by themselves – I think is a real violation of the way the royal family is supposed to operate.’