The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will no longer use the titles His and
Her Royal Highness after announcing they would step back from their
roles as senior members of the royal family, Buckingham Palace announced
Saturday.Prince
Harry and Meghan are no longer working members of the royal family and
will repay the Sovereign Grant funds they recently spent to renovate
their official residence, Frogmore Cottage -- £2.4 million (about $3
million) of British taxpayers' money -- the palace said in a statement.As
part of the agreement, the couple will be required to step back from
their royal duties, including military appointments, and no longer
represent the Queen, the statement from Buckingham Palace said.
Harry and Meghan will no longer receive funds for royal duties, it said. The arrangement will go into effect this spring."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," Queen Elizabeth II said in a statement.
"Harry,
Meghan and Archie will always be much loved members of my family," she
said. "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," the
Queen said, "and am particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly
become one of the family."
Harry will give up his three military
patronages, a royal source said, and his position as Commonwealth youth
ambassador. The couple will spend the majority of their time in North
America, the royal source said.
The family has been discussing
Harry and Meghan's future after the couple made a surprise announcement
that they would step back from their roles as senior members of the
family, split their time between the United Kingdom and North America
and work toward becoming financially independent.
Saturday's news
came after senior members of the family held a meeting at the Queen's
Sandringham estate on Monday. Afterward, the Queen said she agreed to a
"period of transition" while the final details of an agreement on the
matter were ironed out.
Meghan, who was in Canada, did not call into the meeting, as expected, a source told CNN.
The
couple has previously spoken about the toll that public scrutiny has
taken on them, with Harry raising the possibility of living abroad
during a TV documentary that aired in October.
Harry's mother,
Diana, Princess of Wales, stopped using Her Royal Highness -- commonly
referred to as HRH -- after her divorce from Prince Charles.
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