Royal Surprise! Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Officially STEP BACK From Royal Family
There have been talks about the possibility of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle drifting away completely from the Royal Family since last year. Now, it seems like they are finally taking a few more steps to accomplish that.
In 2019, rumors surfaced that Markle and Prince Harry were eyeing for a second base in the United States after completing their home renovation in Windsor.
According to Television Producer Nick Bullen in the documentary "Meghan for President?," Markle gives importance to her American heritage that she wants her son Archie to know his ancestries.
Since the two also see Africa as an important place to both of them, Bullen thought that the Duke and the Duchess will be establishing three bases including the one in Windsor, California and Africa.
Before these guesses by Bullen, Prince Harry stated in the new ITV documentary "Harry & Meghan: An African Journey" their plans on taking longer breaks -- one which fueled rumors about leaving the U.K. and the Royal Family soon.
Evidently, as they finished spending their time-off in Canada during holiday festivities, that "soon" appeared to be "now" after the couple officially decided to step back from the royal family.
Sussexes' New Year Surprise
On Jan. 8, the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes braved all odds and finally took to Instagram to announce the news regarding their decision to step back as "senior" members of the royal family and divide their time flying back and forth from the U.K. and North America.
They revealed that they contemplated for "many months" to come up with the very tough decision of finally becoming independent from the central and senior members of the royal family -- Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, and Prince William.
View this post on Instagram“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 A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on Jan 8, 2020 at 10:33am PST
The decision came after months of suffering from allegation after allegation: from the criticisms they received while filming their documentary on their royal tour in South Africa to the clear demolition job by various British tabloids who invaded their privacy as a family.
Concerning this, the Duke of Sussex also stated before that he just cannot allow his wife to fall victim to the "same powerful forces" that led to his mother's death. What his mother has lived through is something that he is currently protecting Markle from, and that is one of the reasons why they seek to stay far from the spotlight.
Moreover, Meghan and Prince Harry decided to split from the joint charity they shared with Cambridges through a statement released by the royal palace.
It followed the rift that was publicized for the first time on ITV's documentary "Harry & Meghan: An African Journey" where Prince Harry finally broke his silence and admitted the fact that there is truly a royal rift.
"Part of this role and part of this job, and this family, being under the pressure that it's under, inevitably, you know, stuff happens," the Duke of Sussex shared. "But look, we're brothers, we'll always be brothers. And we're certainly on different paths at the moment, but I'll always be there for him, as I know he'll always be there for me."
As independent Royals, they are expected to finally start their own charity called Sussex Royal this m2020, which would focus on community-based projects.
