Queen strips Prince Harry and Meghan Markle of Royal titles, asked couple to repay £2.4m of taxpayers’ money

0

In a huge development, the British Monarch has announced that Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle will be stripped of their royal titles after the couple decided to become financially independent. Harry and Meghan will no longer be referred to as His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness. They will henceforth be simply known as Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. The couple will also have to pay £2.4m of taxpayers’ money spent on the renovation of their UK home, which will be their future abode in the country.

Prince Harry

Harry, who was born the Prince of Wales, will remain a Prince. The couple had spent £2.4m on renovating their Berkshire home, Frogmore Cottage, which will be their UK home. They have agreed to repay the money after prolonged talks involving senior members of the British royal family.

A statement by the Queen said, “”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. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved members of my family.”

The statement further added, “I recognise 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. I want to thank them for all their dedicated work across this country, the Commonwealth and beyond, and am particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family. It is my whole family’s hope that today’s agreement allows them to start building a happy and peaceful new life.”

Separately, a statement by Buckingham Palace said, “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are grateful to Her Majesty and the Royal Family for their ongoing support as they embark on the next chapter of their lives. 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.

“With the Queen’s blessing, the Sussexes will continue to maintain their private patronages and associations. While they can no longer formally represent the Queen, the Sussexes have made clear that everything they do will continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty.”

It added, “The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family.

“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have shared their wish to repay sovereign grant expenditure for the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage, which will remain their UK family home.

View this post on Instagram

“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. 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. It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment. We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity. 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. Until then, please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support.” – The Duke and Duchess of Sussex For more information, please visit sussexroyal.com (link in bio) Image © PA

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on

“Buckingham Palace does not comment on the details of security arrangements. There are well established independent processes to determine the need for publicly funded security.

“This new model will take effect in the spring of 2020.”

The tremor in the British monarchy was first felt earlier this month after Harry and Meghan stunned everyone by announcing their intention to step away from their royal duties to become financially independent. Their statement had read, “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. 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. It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment. We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity. 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. Until then, please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support.”

Royal commentator Alastair Bruce told Sky News that this was a ‘seismic announcement from the Queen’ adding that this also amounted to ‘an abdication in a sense from the Royal Family for Harry and he and his wife are now free, to a certain extent, to go and follow the dreams that they have.’

Previous articleIt’s official! Salman Khan tells Asim Riaz that Himanshi Khurana, Punjab’s Aishwarya Rai, has split with boyfriend to be with him
Next articleShraddha Kapoor cries bitterly, Indian Idol judge Neha Kakkar in shock as Varun Dhawan brings Alia Bhatt’s dupatta for contestant