Meghan Markle and Prince Harry forced by Queen to drop HRH titles and repay £2.4m as smiling monarch emerges with Andrew
A SMILING Queen today emerged after pulling no punches with a hardline Megxit deal as Meghan Markle and Prince Harry exit as senior royals.
For starters, they will be now simply known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after being forced to drop their Royal Highness titles.
And Her Majesty laid down the law last night – saying they can “no longer formally represent” her despite the couple having insisted they wanted to “fly the flag” for the Queen after quitting the Firm.
In the decisive statement, the 93-year-old monarch also revealed the couple would pay back the £2.4m of taxpayer money spent on refurbishing Frogmore Cottage.
And the Queen appeared in good spirits this morning as she arrived for church at Sandringham with son Prince Andrew – her aides having struck a deal just days after she sat down with Prince Harry in crunch talks.
Under the new deal, Harry and Meghan will retain their HRH status — but agreed to not use their titles while trying to forge a new life in North America.
It means Harry has now been brought down to the level of 30 other Dukes in the UK.
One royal expert last night described the incredible Megxit deal as an “abdication” and said the Queen “has brought down the iron fist of monarchical leadership”.
The new deal
The deal will start in the spring and follows a summit among senior royals last Monday to discuss the couple’s wishes to step back from frontline duties.
The Queen revealed details in an unprecedented statement last night.
She 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.
“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.”
Couple will still use Frogmore on UK visits
Under the terms of the deal, the couple will no longer be funded by the taxpayer through the Sovereign Grant after saying they want financial independence.
But Prince Charles will continue paying for Harry using his personal funds and money from the Duchy of Cornwall.
Last year, Harry and William shared around £5million, with an estimated £2.3million going to Harry and Meghan.
It is believed the public purse will continue to be used to cover the cost of their expensive security in North America.
As part of the agreement, Harry and Meghan revealed they will repay £2.4million spent on renovating Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.
They had been expected to live there full-time with baby Archie.
Instead, the family will spend most of their time in Canada and use Frogmore Cottage when visiting the UK.
Harry to lose his titles
Harry, who passed through Sandhurst and served in Afghanistan will lose all honorary military titles.
They include Captain General Royal Marines — the title he took from his grandad, Prince Philip.
He also hands back Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Honington in Suffolk and Commodore-in-Chief of small ships and diving.
And he gives up his role as Commonwealth youth ambassador.
Meghan flew back to Canada earlier this month to be with baby Archie. Harry remained in England alone without his wife to finalise the deal.
The terms of the couple’s new life will come into effect within months after a transition period.
They are expected to attend royal events in the UK before the deal formally begins.
They will also keep their charities and patronages and roles as president and vice president of The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust.
No more HRH
Harry and Meghan will remain Duke and Duchess and members of the Royal Family but will not use HRH titles in any new jobs.
Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying: “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.
“The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family.
Statement in full
From Her Majesty The Queen:
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.
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.
From Buckingham Palace:
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.
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.
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.
Payback
“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.”
The official statement did not go into detail of their new security arrangements but left open the likelihood of the taxpayer funding their protection around the world.
It said: “There are well established independent processes to determine the need for publicly-funded security.”
And the statement concluded: “This new model will take effect in the spring of 2020.”
It is not yet clear if the couple will be able to keep their online branding, or use the official website domain name Sussex Royal.
They also use the brand on social media and commercial trademarks.
The Duke and Duchess’ new website sussexroyal.com was updated last night following the Queen’s statement.
It read: “In line with the statement by Her Majesty The Queen, information on the roles and work of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be updated on this website in due course.”
It is also unclear if they must continue to attend formal family events such as Trooping the Colour in June.
The pundit’s reaction
Royal protocol expert Alastair Bruce said Prince Harry has now been brought down to the level of 30 other Dukes in the UK. The monarchy expert said the bombshell deal is “cataclysmic” and the Queen has “brought down the iron fist” to end the crisis.
He said: “This is an abdication. We now know it will be Harry and Meghan, there will be no more Royal Highness, no more representing the Queen on great occasions, no more being part of the royal and ceremonial Royal Family, no more military involvement and no more public money.
“This is 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.
“It’s still very warm on the pastoral side of affection from a grandmother to her grandson and her great-grandson and granddaughter-in-law, but at the same time she has brought down the iron fist of monarchical leadership on a problem that needed to be solved.
‘THIS IS AN ABDICATION’
“She has made it very clear that the royal status, the princely status, should be dissolved.
“But no longer part of the royal business no longer carrying that benefit from the public funds of doing out Frogmore Cottage.
“This is an ex prince who is laying down all those royal trappings and those for his wife and it seems for his son.”
He also said that the situation with Harry and Meghan was turning into an “enormous distraction” and that there will be no “halfway house” for the pair.
TV host Piers Morgan tweeted: “The Queen has told Meghan and Harry to sling their part-time royal hook. Well done, Your Majesty right decision. Only surprised it took her so long to get Harry to ditch his family, the monarchy, the military and his country. What a piece of work.
“Bottom line: Meghan and Harry wanted to have their cake & eat it, but the Queen just took the cake back to the royal kitchens.”
Lord West, former head of the Navy, said he was disappointed Harry is stepping back from military appointments.
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He said: “The whole situation is extremely sad. It is unfortunate, after his splendid service that he will now no longer be involved with the military in the UK.” And James Glancy, an ex-captain in the Royal Marines, said he and others would not raise a toast to their ceremonial head if he tried to cash in on his royal position with commercial ventures.
Sky royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills said: “The Sussexes can now start what they wanted which is this independent life.
“There are still many details to be worked through but certainly this is beginning to give us a little more clarity.”