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

[Nico]

Well, I'm sure that Harry and Meghan were "hurt" by the lack of support form the family when Meghan was harassed/bullied/abused throughout her entire pregnancy and postpartum stage with lies and half-truths. All while both were working on projects/tours to help the BRF & the UK.

Because you were there ? Because you know privately the BRF ? Because you have some tape recordings of the private phone calls ?
Once for all i want to know where this "lack of support"comes from ?
Oh i pretty know this little music will find a broad audience in the US. I mean, It's so easy, the sterling princess vs the wicked in laws. Almost ready fot the Hallmark channel. Already heard that before and its never gets old.

So that is. Meghan didn't get a full public show of support from BP so now it's take that the Old Queen and your outdated institution.

I admire very much your sense of respect.

 

[Mbruno]

If they had consulted with the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge before coming to this decision, I might have some respect left for them. But to announce it without even informing them is just disrespectful. And they had enough time between making the decision and announcing it to produce a long webpage, but still didn't inform the Queen, so that was clearly deliberate.

And I regret they dragged Canada into this by making it look like that was engineered during their Canadian break guided by Canadian advisers as the Toronto firm who designed the website ? The nail in the coffin was their visit yesterday to Canada House where their announced Canadian projects are now in hindsight to be seen as part the new “ independent progressive role” they are carving out for themselves without consulting the Queen or the PoW. Seriously, what an embarrassment for Her Majesty’s government in Canada who was unknowingly giving a seal of approval to all of that.

 

[ACO]

Except a photo-op at the Grand Hall of Windsor Castle and a picture with granny ? Sorry, but that is not entirely accurate and more in line with having it my way as opposed to having nothing.

I mean one can also argue that was just some good press. I am not saying otherwise but a moment to celebrate a baby doesn't mean other drama wasn't going down.

I am not even saying I believe it all which I thought I made clear but also was especially obviously things were not well in the House of Windsor. We had that whole thing from Palmer who flat out said *no one* in the family supported the Sussexes and repeated it many times.

Well they have their slimmed monarchy and with three less "senior" royals around things should be interesting.

Either way it seems Harry and Meghan are gone -- whatever that means.

 

[Lumutqueen]

It's worth remembering that Harry is sixth in line. Pretty far down the line of succession.

Succession position has literally got nothing to do with it. It’s all about the engagements a Senior Royal takes part in, which now Henry and Meghan won’t be. Or might be but not as much. Rather confusing frankly.

 

[King of the Jungle]

as tough as this will be for william, his dad will be in the throne first whilst his kids are growing up, so when william is heir he will have the support of his kids who will surely become active royal members when charles is king.

The children of the monarch do a power of real work. They are seen on the ground, at grass roots familiarising the people with the work of the British Royal Family and availing themselves to people in need who are not always the flavour of the month. They fight for habitats, the elderly and they keep the traditions at times like Trooping the Colour.
The Queen has immense support from her family. Her children travel and share her load and always have.

So, for Charles and William to lose the loyal support of Harry is huge.
The UK is used to getting value for money with a family not just a monarch.
The characters of the Queen's extended family are colourful and reflect variety to the public.
The Palaces are lived in. The Queen is not alone in her job.

Personally, I think that Meghan is very used to being independent while in the limelight. She might never be happy as a Senior Royal. Harry is listening and making concessions. Who knows how it will all turn out?

I am sad that the trust (between the people and the BRF) built up over many generations might weaken. Harry can never look trustworthy if he is seen to be abandoning his family.

 

[crm2317]

Part of me wants to give them the benefit of the doubt and sit back to observe how they carve out this new role in the immediate future. Only then to give an opinion on this move.

The other part of me feels so sad for the Queen. She has led from the front, the image of duty and dedication to her country. I find it so hard to accept that Harry would make this move so publicly without detailed discussions with her first! How could he do this, it comes across (to me) as so selfish. Like a child who isn’t getting his way and so decides to stomp off and refuse to join in.

I’m not sure that the British taxpayers (myself included) will be happy to read that they will only be giving up the 5% crown grant and still be taking money from the Duchy of Cornwall. They were happy to take the taxpayer money to refurb their property, to part fund their dream wedding! They are happy to keep said property that was a made a gift to them by the Queen.

What exactly will this mean in terms of family events such as Trooping the Colour?

 

[Somebody]

I am really curious to see what, if anything, will happen to their styles and/or titles. Several people seem to assume they will loose it. So far, that doesn't seem to have been practiced to any born member of the royal family. The duke of Windsor was 'technically dead' after his abdication; so, they created a new title for him and he was a royal highness although his wife wasn't. Diana and Sarah lost their style of royal highness after divorce.

Here we are talking about a born prince who announced his desire to move from 'senior' to a different (more minor?) role within the family. While it seems all was handled badly; I am not so sure that they will be stripped of their titles (not even sure how that would work - could the queen just announce that she removed his peerage or is there a process in place?). The main caveat might be whether they intend to keep using 'Sussex Royal' as their brand (especially if they used it in any way commercially); in that case, the BRF might have little option than to put an end to that.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Apparently Buckingham Palace was unprepared for this and that’s really not a good sign that this was well considered

https://twitter.com/x/status/1215004232954339328

Buckingham Palace is said to be 'disappointed' I didn't realize that the Queen and hadn't been consulted.

 

[Alison H]

I'm very disappointed in them, especially after they were happy to accept public money to do up Frogmore. There are a large number of small charities to which royal patronage is important. The Duke of Kent and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester all do their bit at the moment, but none of them are getting any younger. Charles, Camilla, Anne, Edward, Sophie, William and Kate can only do so much between them, especially when they'll have overseas tours to do, and they'll also be needed for visits by overseas dignitaries to the UK - it's all very well Prince Charles talking about a slimmed-down monarchy, but it's not that practical.


From what Sky News is saying, the other royals hadn't been consulted or even told. I don't know if that means that the Queen had to hear about it on the TV or the internet like everybody else - I hope not! She must be very hurt if so.

 

[amaryllus]

They lost 3. Now They can really use the York sisters. Very dutiful, dedicated, talented and been doing Work unofficially for years.



Harry regretting it in a year or two and crawling back? Hah. I hope the door Hits him where the sun don’t shine!

 

[suztav]

Very disappointing to hear that Buckingham Palace wasn’t consulted prior to this announcement. Disrespectful!

 

[Moonmaiden23]

When the Sussexes could not be convinced to spend any part of the Christmas season in Britain, I was concerned.

Because these-let's be honest-are the final years of the reign/lives of his grand parents and I was surprised they didn't want to take advantage of the time so that their little son could spend time with the DoE and the queen.

She will not show it publicly, ever, but the queen must be very sad and I am sad for her.

 

[QueenMaryAndTheIvy]

I don't quite understand how the inheritance the Princes received from their great-grandmother Queen Mother and from their mother Dianai is never mentioned. Nor discussed as a possible nest egg for future independence, not in a great or a minor palace, but for a more comfortable life than 99% of mankind.
Somehow no-one worries over how much Duchess Of Kent works -privately as a music teacher, nor how Princess Alexandra Ogilvy lives and spends he money. Not even when they were younger and not in their 80s. Duke of Gloucester, the father of teh present one(who is an architect) was a regent for some time from 1938 on, but that was because of the extraordinary exit of King Edward VIII and the death of Duke of Kent in 1942.
The Swedish Royal family have already slimmed down - as have many European courts. Harry is Diana's son and resembles her in his style of decisions.

What if Hasnat Khan would have accepted to marry Diana ...? They would have lived on his income. Perhaps, in these equal days, Harry can live on his wife's income, in addition to his own.---

There have always been many semi-royals or victims-of-revolutions- royals or former royals.
I also think that Prince Edward and Prince Anne will work hard and long for their long lives. Harry comes with different expectations of a family - like his mother----

 

[King of the Jungle]

I think it's great H and M are going their own way. Meghan has been relentlessly attacked in the UK media, and there is only so much she should have to take.

It's worth remembering that Harry is sixth in line. Pretty far down the line of succession. He's a married man, and his first obligation is to his wife and children period.

Some press has been hurtful but mostly Meghan has been soundly welcomed by crowds of people in Commonwealth countries and has had great reponses when undertaking charitable engagements. The BRF has always had some negative media and has always risen above it and carried out valuable tasks.

The British public protect their Royals and team Harry & Meghan was just getting started.
Harry and Meghan have led a privileged existence so far and they should disregard the negative press and forge ahead, having some trust in the institution headed by the Queen.
If it is a matter of mental health then they have to take proper medical advice but they should speak plainly and honestly about why they decide to bail out.

 

[Alison H]

I honestly don't see that Meghan got that much hassle from the press. Yes, there was some criticism levelled at her, but that happens with all famous people, in every country. I've seen far more criticism aimed at footballers who've played badly in important matches, or pop stars or actors who've said something inappropriate in interviews, and the things that get said about prominent politicians of all parties are a million times worse than anything any of the papers have said about Meghan. If you're in the public eye, you unfortunately have to accept that the press are going to have a go at you sometimes. I don't see that Meghan has had to cope with any worse than the Duchess of York has, and Camilla's had far worse.

 

[Jacknch]

Please note that several posts alluding to a possible future break up of the Sussex's marriage have been deleted. It really isn't in the spirit of the Royal Forums to make such comments and further posts of that nature will be deleted and further action taken.

Please be reminded also to avoid arbitrary speculation, rumour and gossip - let's discuss the facts as we know them rather than baseless commentary.

 

[Iluvbertie]

What a disappointment. See Edward the seventh. Diana would be shocked at her son’s decision to not support her other son, I assume as any mother. See Her quotes on preserving the monarchy for her son . Once the titles are stripped as well as the security, he will certainly have enough to live on from the legacies from his mother and grandmother. But it will never be enough, see Sarah, Ferguson. What a childish, selfish decision and it feel for his grandparents who have given all to duty

Titles will NOT be stripped.

Parliament doesn't have a reason to remove their titles.

Go back to 1936 when Edward VIII 'stepped back' from royal duties by abdicating. He kept his title as Prince and was then created a Duke.

If an ex-king remains a royal and is even promoted to being a peer of the realm AFTER stepping down why would Harry lose his titles for stepping down?

I do think they should lose security unless undertaking official duties on behalf of the monarch or the nation (as is the case with Sophie or the Gloucesters and Kents) and certainly when just doing their own thing outside the UK. They can't expect British taxpayers to pay for that.

I do remember when Diana wanted to step back from royal duties and she was told that she would have to pay the commercial rate of rent for KP so I would expect that they will have to do that with Frogmore as well.

 

[O-H Anglophile]

I am really curious to see what, if anything, will happen to their styles and/or titles. Several people seem to assume they will loose it. So far, that doesn't seem to have been practiced to any born member of the royal family. The duke of Windsor was 'technically dead' after his abdication; so, they created a new title for him and he was a royal highness although his wife wasn't. Diana and Sarah lost their style of royal highness after divorce.

Here we are talking about a born prince who announced his desire to move from 'senior' to a different (more minor?) role within the family. While it seems all was handled badly; I am not so sure that they will be stripped of their titles (not even sure how that would work - could the queen just announce that she removed his peerage or is there a process in place?). The main caveat might be whether they intend to keep using 'Sussex Royal' as their brand (especially if they used it in any way commercially); in that case, the BRF might have little option than to put an end to that.

I agree about any commercial usage of "Sussex Royal", their HRH or Royal Dukedom--it would be incredibly self-serving and tacky.

Martha Louise of Norway was told not to use her Princess title in her commercial endeavors. I believe that needs to happen to Harry & Meghan as well.

 

[robsmom]

I do not entirely blame this on H&M or even on recent treatment of them by the press or public. The “Firm” is just like any family business, but with tight rules and structures that are thousands of years old. In many family businesses, children leave because they do not want the role they are given, are tired of waiting for responsibility, or just want to do something different. Harry has spent his life watching the good and the bad of being in the spotlight. He has also had time to observe how that spotlight changes. He watched his father carve out his place while waiting years for a job that will probably not have very long. He has watched the Queens’s Cousins and his own Aunts and Uncles go from being Senior Royals to lesser roles. He himself has gone from third in-line to sixth and can expect to be in the double digits in 30 years. Archie will be in the same position as Beatrice and Eugenie. Harry is close to the York girls and has watched as they were raised as Princesses, and then told to find their own way as adults. I think he is right to prepare himself and his child(ren) for a less royal life. I am not sure I agree with exactly how he is doing it, but will hold judgement. Right now, it seems a bit rash and financially questionable, but they both have skills that are marketable in many ways.

 

[ACO]

Well how about this little tidbit. Tom Bradby was just on ITV news saying that the family were well aware of what Harry and Meghan wanted. It seemed it didn't mean to come out yet but someone inside leaked it to The Sun (it was their big exclusive last night) and that prompted them to put out the statement. He was on GMB this morning kind of talking around it but back tonight on ITV basically confirming people close to them were well aware as were the royals. So that is interesting...

 

[Missjersey]

Oh brother....

Never been a Meghan fan, think Harry always has a chip on his shoulder through his smiles, but this, this for me shows their true colors which I find quite ugly .

 

[Nico]

Well how about this little tidbit. Tom Bradby was just on ITV news saying that the family were well aware of what Harry and Meghan wanted. It seemed it didn't mean to come out yet but someone inside leaked it to The Sun (it was their big exclusive last night) and that prompted them to put out the statement. He was on GMB this morning kind of talking around it but back tonight on ITV basically confirming people close to them were well aware as were the royals. So that is interesting...

Confusing as hell ...

 

[Mbruno]

Titles will NOT be stripped.

Parliament doesn't have a reason to remove their titles.

Go back to 1936 when Edward VIII 'stepped back' from royal duties by abdicating. He kept his title as Prince and was then created a Duke.

I agree it would be exceedingly complicated to strip Harry of his ducal title and even more so to remove him from the line of succession, so that is not going to happen. In the Duke of Windsor ‘s case, however, while he kept an HRH style, Wallis never became an HRH. In fact , she was explicitly denied that dignity, wasn’t she ?

I don’t see the Queen stripping Meghan of the HRH while keeping it for Harry, but she could do both if she wanted to. That is actually far easier than taking his peerage or his succession rights as it does not require an act of Parliament or consent from the Comminwealth realms.

 

[Lady Daly]

The one he never actually verbalised or confirmed he wanted, that’s completely made up by the press.

You could be correct Lumutqueen about the press making this up. I did an exhaustive search and found articles by the IBT, the NYT, Daily Mail, etc, etc. I did find a clip from Juliet Reiden, Editor and board member of the Princes Trust in Australia https://julietrieden.com/ talking about "Prince Charles may slim down the monarchy" https://www.express.co.uk/news/roya...nce-Charles-Prince-Andrew-royal-family-latest. So, yup, could be just speculation however...

 

[Muhler]

I find it more and more worrying that no statement has been issued by the court, saying something - anything!

It's been four hours since the news broke the court ought to have issued at least a comment by now.

The more time that passes, the more credence there is to the speculations that this was a unilateral decision that has not been discussed by the other senior members of the BRF.

By noon tomorrow this silence will be interpreted a major rift within the BRF, no matter what the court and members of the BRF says afterwards.
There can IMO be no other logic interpretation for a continued silence from the court.

Okay, if, repeat if, H&M have unilaterally decided to go solo, so to speak, I don't think they are in any position to decide what future roles they may have. Especially if they haven't told the rest of the BRF. That would be naive.

 

[Curbside]

Some press has been hurtful but mostly Meghan has been soundly welcomed by crowds of people in Commonwealth countries and has had great reponses when undertaking charitable engagements. The BRF has always had some negative media and has always risen above it and carried out valuable tasks.

The British public protect their Royals and team Harry & Meghan was just getting started.
Harry and Meghan have led a privileged existence so far and they should disregard the negative press and forge ahead, having some trust in the institution headed by the Queen.
If it is a matter of mental health then they have to take proper medical advice but they should speak plainly and honestly about why they decide to bail out.

By people, yes, but not really by the press. I think they tried to forge ahead, but really, life is too short to have to put up with that crap--the constant criticism, the racism, and the constant disrespect.

 

[QueenMaryAndTheIvy]

here it is, Harry's net worth 40m and not just a twopence taht Meghan has:
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/a30446498/prince-harry-net-worth/

 

[Iluvbertie]

I find it more and more worrying that no statement has been issued by the court, saying something - anything!

It's been four hours since the news broke the court ought to have issued at least a comment by now.

The more time that passes, the more credence there is to the speculations that this was a unilateral decision that has not been discussed by the other senior members of the BRF.

By noon tomorrow this silence will be interpreted a major rift within the BRF, no matter what the court and members of the BRF says afterwards.
There can IMO be no other logic interpretation for a continued silence from the court.

Okay, if, repeat if, H&M have unilaterally decided to go solo, so to speak, I don't think they are in any position to decide what future roles they may have. Especially if they haven't told the rest of the BRF. That would be naive.

There has been a statement from BP saying that it is 'more complicated' and that discussions are at 'an early stage'.

 

[wyevale]

I suspect Harry and Meghan are going to be a bit like the EU of the Royal Family. Not nearly as popular as everyone around them tells them they are....

 

[Mbruno]

There has been a statement from BP saying that it is 'more complicated' and that discussions are at 'an early stage'.

Which I read as saying they were taken by surprise and still don’t know what to make of it.

No matter where one stands in the debate, the way the Sussexes did it (basically pushing the Palace into a corner) is unforgivable in my humble opinion. It is “ my way or the highway” on steroids really.