Meghan Markle and Prince Harry STILL call themselves ‘Their Royal Highnesses’ in statement after Megxit is confirmed
MEGHAN Markle and Harry have released a statement in response to Buckingham Palace's announcement yesterday that they will drop royal duties and their HRH titles.
Within minutes of the memo, the royal couple updated their new SussexRoyal website - but they still called themselves “Their Royal Highnesses”.
Their post 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.
“We appreciate your patience and invite you to explore the site to see the current works of Their Royal Highnesses.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed last week they were stepping down as royals and moving to Canada - with the Queen demanding "final decisions" to be made "in the coming days".
The couple will now be known as Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and "will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family".
Statement in full from the Queen and Buckingham Palace
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.
Princess Diana, Harry's mum, lost her HRH title when she divorced Prince Charles and her title was then re-styled as Diana, Princess of Wales.
Prince Harry will also lose his Captain General of Marines, Hon Air Commandant, Commodore-In-Chief and Youth Ambassador titles.
It is understood that in return for dropping the use of the HRH titles, there will be no oversight on how the couple earn money, meaning they can make whatever commercial deals they want.
The Sussexes will continue to maintain their private patronages and associations, but they "no longer formally represent The Queen".
In the statement on Saturday it was announced the royal couple will repay the £2.4million spent on Frogmore Cottage and it "will remain their UK family home".
It is understood Prince Charles will continue to privately fund for the upkeep of their home, but it is not clear if it will be through his Duchy of Cornwall coffers.
This new arrangement is expected to be rolled out this spring, meaning they will be carrying out royal engagements and Meghan will be returning to the UK until that time.
The palace did not comment on the details regarding Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's security arrangements, but said there "are well established independent processes to determine the need for publicly-funded security".
A royal expert told The Sun Online that the British taxpayer could be the ones footing the bill.
The Queen added she was pleased that "a constructive and supportive way forward" had been found and reiterated that Prince Harry, Meghan and baby Archie "will always be much loved members of my family".
Her Majesty wished them a "happy and peaceful new life" after mentioning the Duchess separately.
The Queen said: "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."
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The couple are now going through a "period of transition" that will see them "create a new life as a young family" and spend time in both Canada and the UK.
Monday's crunch summit, which lasted almost four hours, took place between the Queen, Prince Charles, and brothers William and Harry.