Meghan and Harry Stepping Back from Royal Duties, Queen Responds to Their Instagram Post

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have made a major announcement on January 8 and it means a big change is about to happen within the Royal Family.

After being married for over a year and welcoming their first child, a son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, into the world in May, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are “stepping back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family.”

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“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

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In an Instagram post, Harry and Meghan made the announcement to the public regarding their big decision. “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.”

The statement continued, “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.”

Harry and Meghan also revealed that they will now be splitting their time between the United Kingdom and North America, while also honoring their “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.”

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‪This evening The Duke and Duchess of Sussex accompanied Her Majesty The Queen and members of @TheRoyalFamily to the annual @RoyalBritishLegion Festival of Remembrance. This special event, which has taken place every year since 1923 at the @RoyalAlbertHall, commemorates all those who have lost their lives in conflicts.‬ • ‪This year’s Festival marked the 75th anniversary of a number of crucial battles of 1944, with a particular emphasis on the collaboration and friendship of the British, Commonwealth and Allied armies who fought them. A unique tribute was given to acknowledge those involved both past and present, culminating in a special parade of some of the last surviving veterans who fought and served in 1944.‬ • ‪Their Royal Highnesses, who last year attended their first Festival of Remembrance together, were honoured to once again pay tribute to all casualties of war and remember those that have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.‬ ‪#FestivalOfRemembrance ‪#WeWillRememberThem‬ Photo © PA / Royal British Legion

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Shortly after their announcement was made, Prince Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, issued a statement of her own in response. The Queen made sure the public knew that this change is still in the early stages of being executed.

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This evening, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the annual #WellChildAwards in London. WellChild aims to ensure every child and young person living with serious health needs has the best chance to thrive with the support and medical care needed in the comfort of their own home. The Duke of Sussex became Patron of WellChild in 2007, and last year both The Duke and Duchess attended the awards to honour the children and families that WellChild supports. The Duke, who first came to these awards over a decade ago, shared in his remarks tonight: “Last year when my wife and I attended we knew we were expecting our first child – no one else did at the time, but we did – and I remember squeezing Meghan’s hand so tightly during the awards, both of us thinking what it would be like to be parents one day, and more so, what it would be like to do everything we could to protect and help our child should they be born with immediate challenges or become unwell over time.  And now, as parents, being here and speaking to all of you pulls at my heart strings in a way I could have never understood until I had a child of my own.” • To find out more about tonight’s event and how you can support this very special organisation, please visit @WellChild Photos ©️ PA images

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“Discussions with The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage. We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through.”

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According to a source with inside knowledge, People reports that the Queen, Prince Charles, and Prince William were caught off guard by Harry and Meghan’s decision to release their statement when they did.

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In Tembisa, Johannesburg, today The Duke and Duchess visited to meet young entrepreneurs at the YES hub – a hive for creativity and social enterprise. Their visit was an amazing tour of the ingenuity and opportunity – seeing businesses that varied from food to essential sanitary products for local women. During their visit, they were able to sample food from ‘Chef Mish’ – a local masterchef winner – which he makes at the site as part of his catering business and cafe. They then joined YES community members to take part in training and tests that will help them gain skills and find work. On the third stop today, entrepreneur Moss showed The Duke and Duchess the organic produce he's growing in the township with aquaponics – supplying local restaurants. And finally, The Duke and Duchess met the women behind the amazing Blossom Care Solutions – who are making 80,000 sanitary pads every month for women in their community. They are 100% compostable, and provide an essential low-cost product for women and girls. The Duchess has long campaigned on this issue and wrote in Time magazine in 2017, saying: “In communities all over the globe, young girls’ potential is being squandered because we are too shy to talk about the most natural thing in the world. To that I say: we need to push the conversation, mobilize policy making surrounding menstrual health initiatives, support organizations who foster girls’ education from the ground up, and within our own homes, we need to rise above our puritanical bashfulness when it comes to talking about menstruation.” • See our previous post to see The Dukes speech #RoyalVisitSouthAfrica Photo ©️ PA images

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The announcement comes shortly after Harry and Meghan spent the holidays in Canada with Meghan’s mother. The source told People, “There is a lot of hurt about this.”

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