The Queen releases statement: the Sussexes are stepping down as full-time royals

Queen's Christmas broadcast

I wondered if we would get any information after the first day of the Sandringham “summit” and here we are. After the Queen met with Prince Harry, Prince William and Prince Charles today at Sandringham, at least one big thing has come down: the Sussexes will be stepping away as full-time working royals, or “senior royals.” The Queen emphasizes that this was not her call, that it is what Harry and Meghan want.

queen harry

The part about “they do not want to be reliant on public funds” will be interesting as it unfolds, and that’s going to be a huge part of what gets worked out this week. I suspect that Charles and the Duchy of Cornwall will be paying for this transition period, but so be it. We also have a confirmation that yes, Harry, Meghan and Baby Archie will be in North America for a time. Possibly forever, at least that’s where their homebase will be.

Omid Scobie says there will be no further statement from the palace today. I imagine there will be more meetings tomorrow and Wednesday as they iron out everything else.

Also: do you think it’s anything that Her Maj referred to them as “Harry and Meghan” and by their titles? I wonder… perhaps their titles ARE in flux.

HRH Sussexes Visit -  Tuesday 7 January  -  Canada House, London

Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red.

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527 Responses to “The Queen releases statement: the Sussexes are stepping down as full-time royals”

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  1. Beach Dreams says:

    She DID refer to them as “the Sussexes” once in the statement, so I’m not sure about the title flux. I think between calling them “Harry and Meghan” and the constant injection of the word “family”, she’s trying to strike a softer tone for PR purposes. She’s playing the grandmother angle because the RF is looking a hot mess right now.

    • MrsBanjo says:

      Good point!

      • (TheOG)@Jan90067 says:

        They probably WILL remain D&D of Sussex… what remains to be seen is if they will be HRH or just “their Highnesses” D&D of Sussex. In one way, I DO think TRF is petty enough for the smack down, in others, I think they’d be way more afraid of being accused of vindictiveness if they did it.

        Good for H&M & Archie! Welcome to North America!

      • olive says:

        @(TheOG)@Jan90067 I understand Meghan’s, but Harry was born a Prince, can they really take away his HRH?

      • xo says:

        It’s not about pettiness. If Meghan & Harry are seen to be trading off their royal titles it would fuel incredible public backlash in the UK.

      • Modiglia says:

        They’ve clearly been planning on using Sussex Royal as a sort of trademark, which won’t work well if those titles are taken away.

      • Myra says:

        TQ will need to explain taking away HRH from them and not a pedophile

      • Modiglia says:

        And Maria, that will be easily explained by pointing out that the Queen and Charles don’t want anyone seen to be making money of their own titles.

      • Thinking says:

        Why is everyone saying North Anerica when the queen herself said Canada ? It doesnt look like they want to spend time in any of the americas ( South America, Central America or United States of America). Why does Meghan not want to go back to States? I know a lot of people have left the US because of disgust with the leader but the Sussexes dont have a problem at all with Conservative/Republican politics – her best friend is daughter of one of the most conservative Prime Ministers Canada has ever had. The royals would be way more popular in the States. Canadians arent as enamoured with royalty. We can take or leave people with titles but in the States people seen to get pretty excited

      • Maria says:

        Modiglia–to which we could ask: So why was Andy taking a cut of Pitch in the Palace? Hmmm…

      • olive says:

        @Thinking Meghan hasn’t lived in the US for probably close to a decade now, she had been living in Canada for 7 years when she met Harry more than 3 years ago now. she probably feels Canada is home. Also, that Canadians aren’t as impressed with royalty as Americans are is another reason to want to live in Canada if they want to live a low-key life when not working.

      • Maria says:

        @thinking although I think Meghan would love to return to LA, she has said she won’t return to the US as long as as Trump is president.

      • Sue M says:

        Re comment by Thinking. Jessica Mulroney is not the daughter of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Rather, she is his daughter-in-law, being married to Ben Mulroney, Prime Minister Mulroney’s son. Ben is a television presenter on a show similar to Entertainment Tonight. Jessica is a stylist on TV shows here. They are a very prominent family in Ontario and Canada.

      • notasugarhere says:

        Beatrice and Eugenie retain their HRH titles while having jobs, as do Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. Unless she removes all of their HRHs, I don’t see removing them from H+M.

      • Shirleygailgal says:

        @OG:If they are stepping away from Royal then I think losing the Royal in their titles is maybe fair? they would still be Their Highness-es Duke & Duchess of Sussex when in England. Then who decides what their titles are in Ireland, Scotland and anywhere else they are Royal in? Here in Canada they are our Commonwealth Youth Ambassadors representing the crown (she’s our Queen) as a side-effect of being born into that particular family. I want to know what they will contribute to Canada? When Meghan worked here she paid taxes here (I hope). So how will they contribute to the Canadian economy? I hope they pay taxes I’d (maybe) be happy to split the cost of their security with them for a specific length of time. … maybe. my musing is going off track, sorry

      • Fabuleuse15 says:

        To me, the insistence on being family is that they will enjoy all the rights and privileges of members of TRF. As long as all minor royals remain HRHs, so will the Suxesses. Even if their HRH were taken away, their Duchy title cannot be taken away without cause. Other than treason, I don’t know what that cause could be considering that Wallis Simpson was made a duchess when she married Edward in exile. She was only denied the HRH. Considering that Edward retained his HRH, Wallis would have kept hers too if they had already married and then forced out.

        More importantly, Sarah Ferguson remains the Duchess of York. Sarah immediately became a spokesperson for Weight Watchers. In spite of her numerous embarrassments to the RF, has the tabloids or her haters ever thought to ask for her to be stripped of her titles?

        In spite of this nation’s people calling for their beloved blood prince to be stripped of his titles, just so a black women can not be a royal is somehow not enough for some people to see deeply engrained racism at play.

      • notasugarhere says:

        NOON, take it back to tumblr. The voiceover is in exchange for a donation to an elephant wildlife charity.

      • fhm57 says:

        @Thinking Canada is part of North America.

      • (TheOG)@jan90067 says:

        Shirley, they are NOT stepping AWAY, just stepping BACK. They will STILL perform duties for the crown/Queen, do tours, etc., but on a scaled back amount. They will most likely be at the important events (TotC, Queen’s Birthday, Remembrance Day etc). They will just not be there for every sneeze and cough.

      • CROWHOOD says:

        I love When people point to their trademarks as “WELL HARRY AND MEGAN WANT TO SELL ROYAL PENCILS”. No. They trademark things so that others cannot make money off of it or use their name/likeness in ways they don’t want.

    • Belinda says:

      This is how I read it too. She stresses they are family and familiar to each other …

      • (TheOG)@Jan90067 says:

        But interesting how she said “remain a part of MY family”, not “our” family. Wonder what will happen when she dies? Will Chuckie and Wandering Willie honorific this agreement?

      • Mrs.Krabapple says:

        I don’t think Charles would be upset about this — isn’t this EXACTLY what he wanted, to streamline the royal family so there are fewer members living off public funds? But instead of waiting for the Queen to die and for Charles to have to “cut” him out, Harry is voluntarily stepping away from it. It’s win-win for Charles, as he gets the cuts he wants, without Harry putting up a fight (although I suspect the others will fight it once the Queen dies, like Andrew and Edward).

      • notasugarhere says:

        Charles was never going to cut out Harry and spouse from being senior working royals. That has never been suggested as part of the slimlining. It was *only* that no cousins of the monarch would be working royals moving forward. Beatrice and Eugenie in this generation, any children of Harry’s in the next.

      • BabsORIG says:

        @Jan90067 I believe she says”My” family because she is the head of the Windsor household.

      • Chelle says:

        @OG – the use is the word my versus our took me aback too. I felt those words were distancing and showed a real cleavage.

    • LadyMTL says:

      This is what I was going to say – she’s called them “the Sussexes” as well as “Harry and Meghan”. I get the impression that whoever wrote this is trying to balance making the message sound informal and family-ish vs just straight up blunt and business-like.

      • Emma33 says:

        I agree, I think they were trying to strike a balance. The statement was able to say what the Queen preferred (for them to stay as senior royals), without sounding cold or judgmental. I thought it was really well done, it takes a lot of skill to do that kind of writing (and quickly too!).

    • Belli says:

      Yes exactly, she’s trying to get the idea out that the family is fine! Stop looking! La la la happy families!

    • lee says:

      That’s what I thought too.

    • Where'sMyTiara says:

      When one invokes the tone of the honorific “grandmother” for political purposes… one might be a crap grandma.

      It’s all a bit slithery, referring to them as H & M and then tossing in Sussexes at the end, almost as an afterthought. Palace has got to keep the plebs on their toes I guess!

      The biggest question I want answered: what made her capitulate? What leverage did Hazza bring to that negotiation? Because they’ve never been terribly keen on listening to or making concessions to him before. Was he going to spill the tea? (I hope he was going to spill the tea.)

      • jwoolman says:

        Harry doesn’t seem to be a tea-spilling type. Neither does Meghan.

        More likely it was just obvious that Harry and Meghan had already decided to live in Canada and to wean themselves off the royal dole and pursue their own opportunities. That really wasn’t negotiable. It’s happening.

        They don’t care about the royal titles and jewels and tiaras and could do other things if their patronages were removed and had sufficient personal wealth and income-producing opportunities to do fine if The Firm immediately cut them off financially.

        Basically, there was nothing that The Firm could do to push them away from their decision. What The Firm provides is simply not important enough to them and so they can do without it. This is a very powerful position for Harry and Meghan to be in. They can’t be bribed or threatened.

        The transitional period and any other things like maintaining titles and access to their UK home are not likely demands made by Harry and Meghan under threat of tea-spilling, but rather something The Firm wants for their own PR purposes and also because the concept is so new, they don’t really know what they should do. Better to maintain some normalcy while they figure out how to deal with the new reality.

      • Liz version 700 says:

        Lawsuits generate discovery which means you get documents from the other side. Also you hire people to investigate things. My guess is Harry got enough dirt that winning the suit against the Mail and the Sun is almost unnecessary. I wonder too it must be quite amazing.

      • Modiglia says:

        I wouldn’t be sure about his lawsuit leverage. The tabs will have a safe full of stories about various royal stories they were told to kill. Negotiating is going to be intense but there have been plenty of Harry “whisper rumour” stories that he really doesn’t want coming out now.

    • Lara K says:

      Yeah she used the word family 3 times in the same sentence, so i agree with this.

      It will be interesting to see how this unfolds, especially because it might be a blueprint for Charlotte / Louis later on. Charlotte has the type of personality that makes me think she will not want to put up with royal BS for long.

      • Chelle says:

        But I felt like my family . . . the Harry and Meghan that she’s putting distance between them. That she’s build a circle around the other and Harry and Megan and their little family sits outside of that.

      • Chelle says:

        Reread letter. I take back what I have written

      • Beatles says:

        OMG Lara, I think you’re dead on on bringing up Charlotte, Louis, and even George here.

        I keep thinking about them in all this and that if Will would do this to his own brother, and Charles to his own son in Harry, this is exactly what Will’s 3 little ones can expect from when they reach adulthood. Once they’re young adults, gaining independence, and start to steal attention from boring, old Chuck and Billy, they’ll do the exact same things to them too. Throwing them under the bus, press leaks making them look bad, mental games, trying to clip their wings.

        Those poor kids.

    • Rae says:

      I agree with @beach. Definitely trying to keep the tone soft and play on the “grandma trying to keep her battling family together” narrative.

    • Digital Unicorn says:

      Its carefully worded to ensure that the press know that they are still family in an effort to quieten the feuding stories that have taken hold – she’s trying to take control of the narrative but its far too late for that now, the damage is done.

    • EM says:

      They may be looking like a Royal mess but Piers and ilk are busy painting the Queen as bullied (good God) and Meghan as the abuser. Words cannot describe what I feel for Wiliam/Kate, Elizabeth & Charles…. may they lose it all.

      • I’d like to see Piers loose it all.

      • Truthiness says:

        Piers needs to take a long walk off a short… what is the word, oh yeah, pier.

      • Donit says:

        So this site is decidedly anti everyone who is not M and H. I like them a lot, but the way they went about this was not smart.

        Also, there is no way that M didn’t know what she was getting in to…they never had a lot of privacy, but it didnt seem to matter until they started getting bad press.

      • PrincessK says:

        @Donit….Meghan was welcomed into Britain with the headline …‘Straight Outta Compton’……so the bad press was from day one, and the reason why Harry issued a statement.

    • Modiglia says:

      This does seem intent on not giving anyone a martyr angle to hang on to.

    • Mrs.Krabapple says:

      Why should their titles be taken away? Harry is an “HRH” by virtue of his birth, and he’s still Charles’ son. Harry and Meghan were made Duke and Duchess as a result of their marriage, and they are still married. Nothing has changed that would justify taking their titles away.

      And they won’t be doing as much work for the royal family in the future? Well, so what? There is no minimum amount of work they need to do to “justify” their titles — just ask Kate about that.

      • Lilian says:

        I think they wouldn’t want them using their titles for profit.

      • Mrs.Krabapple says:

        So H and M can keep titles ONLY if they are receiving public funds, but if they don’t live off public funds they cannot use their titles? Did someone pass along this “rule” to the Prince and Princess Michael of Kent? Because the Kents don’t seem to know about it. And did Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have their titles taken away when they got “jobs” in the private sector?

      • notasugarhere says:

        This, Mrs. Krabapple. Beatrice, Eugenie, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent all have jobs and retain their HRH status. Unless she’s going to remove them from everybody who isn’t a senior working royals, removing them from Harry and Meghan would be suspect.

      • Ronaldinhio says:

        All this not use their title for money

        What about all the royalky branded Duchy products Charkes flogs??

    • Nic919 says:

      Unless they removed pedo Andy’s titles and HRH they are not going to touch Harry and Meghan’s. Let us not forget that pedo Andy has actually traded his access for cash…. and at a minimum let a pedo into their midst.

      Also the Cambridges trademarked their titles as well. Nothing was done here that wasn’t done by other royals before.

      • Mrs.Krabapple says:

        Some people seem to complain about H and M “making money” while also having their titles. But Prince and Princess Michael of Kent use their titles AND make money off of book deals, etc. Of course, they’re both white so maybe the rules are different.

    • Mego says:

      I agree.

    • I also think the meeting timeline is interesting as it has been reported by English and picked up by The Times, etc. This is my thinking on how they arrived at Sandringham:

      Charles arrived at Sandringham last night…thus he and a Queen had longest time to discuss.

      Harry arrives at 11:20 today — time for personal time w/Queen and Charles, separately and together, possibly even lunch

      William arrives at 1:45 — official meeting between the 4 of them starts at 2pm.

      Charles, William, Harry all clocked at leaving separately at around 3:45. Thus 60-90 minute official meeting.

      So, my take is there is still major issues between William and Harry as their time together was kept to a minimum

    • Snap Happy says:

      I wonder if there is any talk about the Sussexes keeping their titles when they won’t be living a majority of their time in the U.K. obviously Charles doesn’t live in Wales and the Cambridge’s don’t live in Cambridge, but they still reside in the U.K.?

    • AnnaKist says:

      Yes, the repeated use of the word, “family”, struck me, too. I was going to count them, but really can’t be arsed.

      He is still Prince Henry/Harry, the son and brother of two future kings, so they can’t take that away. Security issues will need to be worked out, and I suspect they’ll want to know exactly how they’ll earn the money to live a more independent life. After all, The Firm won’t want them involved in any business venture/s that will bring shame on The Family *smirk*

  2. Wilma says:

    I think referring to them by their first names infers some warmth and the personal relationship that exists outside of being working royals.

    • Jax says:

      This, it was in keeping with the statement being personal, grandma to her grand kid sort of thing. She does also call them the Sussexes in the same statement.

      They’re basically going to agree to everything H&M want, now its just working out the details of how that looks financially and logistically.

      More PR push and scapegoating of Meghan for KP in 4…..3…..2

      • ProfPlum says:

        Daily Heil article just posted claiming that “this is what Meghan wanted all along. She never planned to stay in the UK, but always wanted to build an empire with Harry abroad.” This empire-building narrative is a bit rich coming from the original colonizers. But go off.

      • Jax says:

        no doubt Daily Fail is going to hang on that angle for the longest time. She’s suing them after all. They’ll never stop blaming her.

      • BabsORIG says:

        @Jax, I wrote yesterday that the firm would agree to ALL the Sussexes asked for in exchange for silence and to not doing projects like reality TV etc, I still stand by that. Also, I don’t see the Meghan bullying continuing, backing off the Sussexes was one of the conditions to ensure a smooth transition. Now whether William and his minions honor that is still to be seen.
        To all posters that read the DF and come post everything you read here, can you please stop doing that? There’s a good reason why a lot of us don’t click nor read the mail et Al. Thank you.

      • VS says:

        @BabsORIG ——— Thank you so much for saying that………I don’t understand why people give tabloid’s websites clicks then complain about what’s going on.
        Kudos Kudos Kudos……..

  3. S808 says:

    Hey maybe Beatrice and Eugene will be the full time royals they always wanted to be!

    • aria says:

      prince charles made clear that those york girls wont get full time. Plus those york girls dont have that much good press in uk because of their parents. if they allow york girls then sarah and andrew will have their way in palace which both william and andrew doesnt like it.

      • olive says:

        when has charles made that clear since harry & meghan announced they won’t be senior royals anymore? there are 2 jobs to fill now

      • notasugarhere says:

        No, there are not two jobs to fill now. Charles is not going to make Eugenie and Beatrice working royals.

      • AnnaKist says:

        Besides, those two girls are as workshy as The Cambridges.

      • notasugarhere says:

        I don’t agree. They were surprised late-teens with the idea they weren’t going to be working royals. They’ve struggled to figure that life out, with Eugenie doing better than Beatrice.

    • Mary says:

      They have probably already hit Granny up for the jobs! Oh gosh, their Papa is probably so proud…

    • Mac says:

      Why would they want to be working royals? Eugenie and Jack are incredibly wealthy and both have successful careers. Bea basically gets paid for letting companies say she works for them and Edo is busy building his own real estate empire.

    • duchesschicana says:

      I think they are content with jobs ,but I dont find this whole situation interesting, considering the York Princesses. I Remember when Princess Beatrice wanted to be a public speaker for APB but there was public backlash so they had to change the story of her not being with APB They had a profile for her and everything.

      Luckily her job with her Affiniti supports her charity work and public speaking. Good luck to Harry and Meghan with new their new buissness venture.

      I just find itInteresting some of the public response that the Sussexes are getting.

    • Elisa says:

      No, this is totally helping Charles with his plans to streamline the RF. So there will simply be less engagements, fewer charities supported by the RF in the future…

      • aria says:

        prince charles streamline rf is to get rid off prince andrew and york girls. But its tone dumb because there are many engagement taken care by senior members for uk and commonwealth. by steam ling them , they are alinting many country because its impossible for prince charles , camilla , william and kate to do all the work. Its going to be disaster for commonwealth. They are doing so many engagement that’s why queen has public support despite all these scandals. If they come less, its not going look very good.

      • Mac says:

        Princess Anne’s children don’t have titles and Charles wanted to streamline out Andrew and Edward’s children. Harry and Meghan were always part of Charles’ vision for his reign.

    • MC2 says:

      I’m pretty sure their father put the nail in the coffin for that to ever be a remote possibility.

    • duchesschicana says:

      @ aria I dont think Charles wants to completely banish the York Princesses. Eugenie is patron of Elephant family a cause very dear to C&C. The rest is jus just buisnness nothing personale.

      • aria says:

        yeah but william and charles doesnt like the yorks. Thats why charles stripped yorks girls working royal. Queen gone with that becasue of charles being heir. I personally feel charles doesnt like andrew very much and queen too. Many reprts says that queen doesnt like charles much. And charles grew up with prince philip bullying him and queen does nothing. Those anger in him, makes him the decision he had made during those days of york stripping. This set bad example for william and he did the same for harry. This will also set bad example for prince George. I dont think prince george was thrilled to welcome prince louis. After all those interaction from the Cambridge kids, its very interesting to see prince George not being warm to prince louis , like charlotte kissing prince louis or holding his hand. does anyone feel like that?because prince william action towards harry may have caused that behavior. Because louis was born during the time harry and william in bad phase. Prince charles set bad example to prince william when come to his sibling. Also prince charles doesn’t interact with andrew or edward. There is a age gap but he was so close to maragret daughter.

      • duchesschicana says:

        @aria I still say for someone who supposedely doesnt like or care for the York Princesss, (I’m not talking about Andrew) he made one of them a patron to a charity that is very sentimental and important to C&C. Why make someone a patron of your charity if you hate them you know?…….. The rest well, buissneess has nothing to do with likeing/caring abouut a person. I doubt he would actually strip the York Princesses of HRH considering Andrew and Suxssexes didnt get sstripped of their title. But yes the York Princesses security was taken out of public funding ocassionally their family will pay for security just not in their daily lives. Its clear they were to make their own path eventually they did.

    • minx says:

      I keep thinking of the Bea and Eug in The Windsors 😂😂

  4. Liz version 700 says:

    Boss move. Even with the barrage of negative press they got what they wanted. Since the senior royals ignored them so much they should barely be missed by their “family.” I think calling them by their first name was a half-hearted attempt to show they are still family and put forth a “we are all FINE! We are FAMILY GOD bleep it FAMILY!l This bleeping hot mess of a family is FINE! It seems as though they indeed did not know Harry as well as they thought and weak fragile Harry just made three generations of royal take several seats! Good for them I hope this allows them to flourish.

    • Queen’s statement was good tactical release. Kudos to whomever wrote it. Sort of like crowd control at a multi-car accident. Nothing to see here people, just keep moving. Keep moving. We’ve got it under control.

  5. Lenn says:

    She also calls him her grandson. She is emphasizing the family bond. I appreciate it. I find this a positive statement.

  6. Jen says:

    You know, Liz, a public statement of support 6 months or so ago could have gone a long way. This is a bit of “too little, too late.”

    • Tiffany says:

      YUUUPPPP!!!!

      If only an official statement along the lines of, ‘Media, we see you, cut it out’ would have sufficed.

      Now she has egg on her face, looks like a idiot and has all but let us know that she does not care unless she is told to pretend to.

    • CeePee says:

      Yes. THIS.

    • Rachel says:

      @Jen, you are absolutely right. I know that the mantra of the RF has been “never explain, never complain, never apologise”, but with the relentless and systematic bullying by the media, e.g. the Daily Mail, HM should have told the press to back off, especially during Meghan’s pregnancy – they crossed a very thick red line when they did that. Being born and bred in the UK, I’ve seen the press behave badly, but they have reached new lows that not even I thought existed. Also by not standing up for Meghan, and calling out on the racism, the Queen and BRF have given carte blanche to the racist elements of society, as the former’s inaction says ‘we don’t really want a non-white’ in the family.’

      • Belli says:

        They proved how important that mantra is to them when they contradicted the “bullying William” story in less than 24 hours.

      • Someone in the American press said recently that, Trump did not create racism, but that he has certainly created an enlarged platform for it to expand and thrive. The Firm, with their silence — never complain, never explain unless it is about Kate’s hair extensions or Andrew’s crimes — have helped create this enlarged permission for active racialism.

    • lucy2 says:

      Yes.
      It shouldn’t take months of attacks and them up and moving to another country for her to be supportive. And this “family” oriented statement is just more PR spin.

    • Elisa says:

      well said!

    • S808 says:

      Yup. 6 months ago AT LEAST.

    • Catting says:

      So true. Calling them “Harry & Meghan” THEN vs now says a lot. Tried to do the old school silent treatment, take their pics out of the Christmas vid thing, and that blew up. Good for H&M.

    • Va Va Kaboom says:

      While I totally agree she should have done this months ago, the truth is the Royal Family were never going to be that proactive. They are staunchly reactive and can’t be arsed to do anything until it becomes an utter clusterf*ck.

  7. S says:

    So, they’re setting it up to give Harry and Meghan everything they’ve already publicly asked for — the part-time royal gig, with Duchy funding until they say they don’t need/want it, Frogmore for when they’re in the UK–but pretending it was the Queen’s plan? That she “talked them into this” instead of them just walking away completely?

    • Esme says:

      The Queen has to appear in control, it’s not a bad spin… Not a bad deal, all in all. One side gets what they wanted, the other side can save face. It works.

      • Chelle says:

        Yes. Exactly. They COULD just walk away and there is nothing the BRF could do—to be honest. With some mutual distance, I think the right balance can be found.

      • S says:

        Don’t disagree, but it’s also painfully obvious spin, given the website specifics already released and dissected ad nauseam since last Wednesday, and it makes me wonder if they really did just want to walk away completely and this half-in/half-out thing WAS the negotiated position all along, which, if true, really makes the week’s worth of snarky leaks from the rest of the BRF look even more hideous.

        Also, all the eyerolls to anyone who thinks these two can’t earn their own money, with or without official titles, just for being them, and don’t also have a fairly endless supply of billionaire buddies to hang with until the checks start to clear.

      • Lilly (with the double-L) says:

        @S lol to “all the eyerolls” – mine have been getting quite the workout. Luckily they’ve been in shape for awhile. Especially with the pedo support and now the Oscar nominations. No pulled eyerolling muscles for me or them getting stuck that way.

    • Mac says:

      I think the best plan for all of them is to pretend the queen mapped out everything. The queen can say she put Harry and Meghan on the best path for them and they can say they are following the queen’s wishes.

      • Belli says:

        Yep. It’s the best for the Queen, because she keeps the appearance of control and it’s the best for Harry and Meghan, because they’re shielded by it being the Queen’s decision.

      • Chelle says:

        Agree. Also, shows how this episode could have been a nothing transitional meeting without all the hoopla had It not been for the leak and the foot dragging. The upside? Hopefully, some things that need to be said and handled between William and Harry can happen. I like how the statement keeps access points open for both parties.

    • Jen says:

      Realistically, they’ll lose the Duchy funding in 5 – 10 years at most anyway, so I think they’re smart to already be transitioning away from it.

      • olive says:

        exactly, meghan is forward-thinking and a long term planner. this is a wise move.

      • notasugarhere says:

        They would have been moved fully to Sovereign Grant funding when Charles became king. Now they have an unknown period of time to be removed from both Duchy and SG funding. Unknown because we don’t know when the Queen will pass.

  8. Mac says:

    Basically this tells us Harry and Meghan could not be persuaded to change their minds.

    • Who ARE These People? says:

      I doubt anyone even tried.

      • Lady D says:

        I doubt they tried, too. I think they went into that meeting ready to lay down the law and found out how wrong they were. The RF remind of a snake eating it’s own tail. A saying that will probably seem more than apt about 2 years into Charles reign.

  9. CeePee says:

    So unfortunate to see what’s been happening to the Sussexes. I think they DID want to be a part of the royal family, but the royal family did not wish for them to be a part of it.

    This whole ordeal has made me dislike William with a passion. And Kate is not far off from that sentiment.

    • Miumiiiu says:

      That’s what they portray it as (the Sussex’s)
      But we don’t know what was really the plan. If they wanted to become known (and loved our of sympathy) and popular, to make more money in the future, this worked out not bad at all. We don’t know what each of them (H,M) really wanted.

      • Lady D says:

        But we had 3 years of watching what they didn’t want.

      • toro says:

        i hope she wiil be at the oscars presenting whatever category it is that is presented by a celebrity every year at the end of the show. cant wait

      • Jaded says:

        CeePee: They wanted the racial harassment to stop. They wanted the death threats to stop. They wanted the spurious tabloids to stop printing lies. Toro: No, Meghan will never present at the Oscars – what a completely bizarre suggestion.

    • EM says:

      Completely agree. A statement from members of the RF a year ago, 6-months or even 3-months ago would have been meaningful but not in their best interest. Kate & Williams began stepping up as Royals only after Meghan entered the picture and painfully obvious that destroying their reputation was part of the plan. They have intentionally sabotaged them in the media & eventually will cut them off completely.

      • Where'sMyTiara says:

        And then the British public will be stuck with Dull and Duller. Value for money? I wonder.

    • Kk2 says:

      I think they were willing to be a part of it on their terms. But the royal family doesn’t work like that. The firm’s way or the highway. To the firm’s surprise, I think, they chose highway. That probably is because of Meghan giving Harry the confidence to do what he always wanted. Being raised in it, I think Harry would be intimidated by trying to live financially outside of the risk family. Meghan is not- she’s been there her whole life. Part of all the classist hate of Harry marrying an American actress is the knowledge that she doesn’t need that aristo life. All this bs about her learning the proper “manners” and being an outsider- it’s racist, classist, and it’s based on fear. Fear that a hardworking and smart (and gorgeous) woman like that is going to see them for the stupid boring imposters they are. Like how your most insecure friend is the biggest one upper, always trying to put other people down to make themselves feel better. That is my impression of the aristo set, as an American.

      I do think the RF has a point that if you are going to accept public money you have to deal with the royal rota. They have to play such a delicate game with the press bc if the press fully turns on them, they are done. I hope they are done anyway personally. In a way all this drama has been good for them, but when Harry and Meghan are gone, who cares?

      • notasugarhere says:

        it is a ridiculous system for any working royals to continue to be hamstrung by the Royal Rota. I won’t be surprised if the rest of the working royals end up moving away from that strange arrangement too.

  10. MrsBanjo says:

    It didn’t read to me like their titles are in flux. They’re not going to be senior royals. So they will be most commonly referred to as “Meghan and Harry” but they still will have duties, including (unless that changes) their roles with the Commonwealth. So using their titles is still appropriate.

    • Chelle says:

      JaneYes. I think what they (H/M) have conceded is Great Britain and Little England, as it were, but what they have is the rest of the time world.

    • notasugarhere says:

      Their roles with The Commonwealth are not with The Commonwealth itself. They are with the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust.

  11. TeamHarry says:

    Yay Queenie. Finally she’s stepping up and expressing a little support. I think the constant use of ‘my family’ is an embracing way to say one, they’re still family and two, let me work this out and mind your own business to everyone else. I also have a feeling Harry stood up and told them to bugger off and that they would lose him completely if they didn’t hear what he was saying. I hope he threw William under the bus for his leaking to the press and lack of support. God, I’d love to have been a fly on those walls today!

  12. minx says:

    Not a bad statement, really, and I’m no fan of TQ.

    • Green Desert says:

      I agree, it’s not a bad statement and I think it’s clear she’s trying to emphasize that they’re a part of the family. However, I also think had she (and Charles and William) been more supportive of Harry and Meghan along the way, they may not be here.

      • L4frimaire says:

        Agree. I’m glad the statement was so conciliatory and is so open. They could have done something like this so long ago, especially during the pregnancy. We don’t know what happens next but hopefully it will be a true transition as they work out finance and titles, and all the paperwork/ protocol. I hope they do serve he Queen in some capacity and show up for certain family events. I feel like if had they been more welcoming and not so driven by jealousy and all of the isms, this plan would have been on a longer time line, and not happened when it did. They did look miserable and you could tell that they were ignored and marginalized. The press never once let up on attacking her (and her primarily) except for briefly during SA tour, and that was only because the international press was also there. Hope they win their lawsuits and they move ahead with their foundation and finding personal equilibrium. The establishment may be angry but she has proved she is not some lightweight to be messed with.

  13. Mia4s says:

    Hahahahahaha!! Have fun doing all the work Will and Kate! Kate is going to be looking to get pregnant ASAP, lest she have to take on a full time workload this year. Hahahahahaha!!!

    Seriously UK, are we going to keep doing this monarchy nonsense? As a Canadian I am fine with them moving here, but I don’t want any public money spent on them. We already have enough Lieutenant Governor dead weight around to cut ribbons and unveil plaques. 🙄

    • Who ARE These People? says:

      Agree on funding. I doubt they’d be looking to be ceremonial figures in Canada… probably just live their life, send the kid(s) to school, and perform royal duties when in the UK or other Commonwealth countries.

    • OriginalLala says:

      Canadian here and I agree – I don’t want any member of the BRF moving here to be supported by our money. We already have a goddamn viceregal that we pay for (Governor General) we don’t need to spend more on representatives of the crown.

      It’s great that they are moving away from the shitshow that is the BRF, but Canada shouldn’t have to shoulder the financial burden.

      • Maria says:

        Look at the DM, Trudeau has already offered to pay £500k for their security, sorry don’t know the exchange rate but think it’s around 1.90 so that’s close to a million can $. A lot of Liberal Mps are going to get some pretty nasty emails if this is true.

      • layla beans says:

        No, he didn’t. The Evening Standard report is wrong. CBC now – “Canada hasn’t decided if it would cover security costs for Harry and Meghan: Morneau”

      • Nic919 says:

        Trudeau is busy dealing with the aftermath of the plane crash so I highly doubt he was thinking about the security costs for Harry and Meghan as he was dealing with the families of the crash victims.

      • Mia4s says:

        “ Look at the DM”

        LOL! How about no @Maria? Seeing as I’m not a horrible racist with a fourth grade reading level, I will not look at the Daily Fail and instead I will wait for actual journalists (we have a few left in Canada, I’m not sure about England).

        Actual journalists are saying no decisions have been made, and beyond the basic protections given to anyone in Canada, the odds of a minority government permitting more? Slim to none.

    • Amy Too says:

      About Canada paying for security. Isn’t that part of living in a society? You pay taxes and then the government makes sure that all of their citizens/residents/visitors are safe and secure? Some citizens need more security than others at certain points in their life due to circumstances, or overall their entire life due to who they are. People have a right to be safe in the country they live in and I would assume that Harry and Meghan would also be paying their share of Canadian taxes (at the very least property taxes, but probably also income taxes). I guess it depends on what “security” means. If it’s the government investigating threats against them and guarding them from threats of violence, then that’s something everyone gets when they need it. But if security also means guarding their privacy to the extent that they never have to interact with peasants (like clearing out stores so they can shop by themselves), then that part of the “security” seems like something they should pay for themselves.

      On the other hand, the only reason they need security is because they are high profile members of the British royal family. In which case I think the royal family should pay for their security whether or not Harry and Meghan ever do another engagement again. That’s the risk of having children when you’re the heir to the British throne: your kids will need security for their entire lives not because of anything they chose to do, but because of who their parents are. And you might hope that they will pay that expense off by working for you, but you can’t make them.

    • blue36 says:

      I agree, I don’t think a lot of Canadians are going to be happy to foot their security bill. As a Canadian I am also okay with them wanting to live here – so I truly hope that the “financial independence” also applies to the Canadian taxpayer. I do wonder during the time that Meghan was living in Canada if she ever applied for permanent residency.

    • Sass says:

      Read the statement.

      Read it again.

      Do you see where it says “Do not want to be reliant on public funds”?

      You’re welcome.

      • lolafalana says:

        Thank you Sass! Exactly. And as a Canadian am just so so so so so so so so so excited to have them here. I hope they stay.

  14. He he says:

    They will take the titles away

    • Liz version 700 says:

      No I doubt it. Because the next question would be why does Andrew still have a title. She wants us to forget about him for a while.

    • Guest says:

      Why would they? What would they gain by doing that except for people, rightfully, wondering why the rapist gets to keep his titles? and why would she specifically refer to them as the Sussexes if she was going to strip them of that? Just wishful thinking on your part I’m afraid.

    • Devon says:

      I really don’t think they will. The press has started to turn on the other royals for doing so little to support H&M and they have to be seeing how much international support the Sussexes are getting.

      I do think they will keep titles, security and Frogmore which turns out is only worth 60K per year in rent.

    • Mac says:

      Duke of Windsor was created for Edward VIII after he abdicated. No need to strip part-time royals of non-hereditary titles.

    • Mich says:

      I highly doubt that.

    • Jen says:

      The titles cost them nothing. If they take them away, they can’t argue it benefits the taxpayer. They can’t justify stripping them of their titles while Andrew, Beatrice, and Eugenie keep theirs. I don’t think they’ll lose their titles.

    • FC says:

      Two reasons I think they’ll either keep their titles or (more likely) get lesser ones:

      1. Brexit happening makes it even more crucial that the BRF maintains a significant presence in the Commonwealth. To have your two most popular royals living in one of those countries as technical commoners is bad for business.

      2. The BRF would look even more racist than they are. Low hanging PR fruit to let them keep some of their prestige.

  15. JulieCarr says:

    There’s no reason for them to be reliant on public funds. I don’t know why that’s even a discussion. Unless Harry somehow quietly blew through his inheritances they have more than enough to be fully financially independent today.

    • Devon says:

      If they are doing work for the Crown, they shouldn’t have to pay out of pocket for those expenses. Other than that and security which should be paid for as they are targets solely because they are part of the royal family, they should be able to pay their own way which is what the Sussexes have said they want.

      • swirlmamad says:

        Exactly. Whatever work they do for the Crown should be funded. Same deal as anyone else in the RF. Whatever they do that is NOT related to the Crown, they pay out their pockets. This is pretty simple and straightforward and I don’t understand why there is so much uproar about this part of it.

      • Sofia says:

        I agree. But from their website it seems to me that to them it means they just won’t take the money from the Sovereign Grant, which constitutes, according to them, almost nothing of their income. If they are serious about being independent, then they will also not take money from Charles private wealth or the Duchy of Cornwall. And they make money in their yet to be defined income-generating activities capitalizing on their skills, charisma and talent/knowledge and not on being Sussex and Royal. Let’s see. I wish them well, but am skeptical if they really thought this through. Looks like a decision taken in the midst of a burn out to me.

      • Modiglia says:

        But that isn’t the deal for non-senior royals.

      • Sofia says:

        Not sure what you mean. There are no non-senior royals paid by the duchy of Cornwall. I think the Dutch prince is a good example. He works as a lawyer so earns money through a normal job, not for anything related to him being royal. Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Eugenie and Beatrice probably live mainly of their husbands‘ incomes I would Meghan can easily earn money as an actress. Harry I am not so sure. People here mention he could earn a lot as public or writing a book. But aside being Royal what could he authentically write or talk about? But oh well we will see. I think they have enough money to live comfortably. And I think if they are fine with living in more „modest“ circumstances, one or two good deals for books and films will set them up for life. Anyway the Duchy of Cornwall since 14th century provides an income to the heir and his household, if they don’t want to be part of that, they should not get Cornwall funds.

      • notasugarhere says:

        The deal for working royals, whether senior or otherwise, is that their working expenses and housing are paid for in exchange for being working royals. The deal they proposed is: when working for the Queen, they’ll live in Frogmore and have their expenses covered by the Duchy. For now. When working on their own outside charity interests, they’ll be on their own and not hamstrung by the Royal Rota. They want to transition to a place where they are not receiving SG or Duchy funding. How they do that, we don’t know. That’s what these negotiations are about.

    • L4frimaire says:

      If they just parked all their personal money in a bank, they’d earn quite a lot off the interest alone. They probably have investments and funds to to make their cash work for them. And there’s the lecture circuit, corporate and philanthropic boards. Who knows. There will be a transition period and not everything will be immediate. They still have royal obligations to fulfill as well.

  16. Artsygirl says:

    I think the choice is between they are in or they are out..there can’t be an in between because that is just too complicated.i read somewhere that meghan signed a deal with Disney to do voice over..I’m not sure what Harry will do for work. But they seem confident so I guess they have enough money to live comfortably for a long time. I’m just wondering if they get stripped of their titles, their brand will suffer as well..

    • Liz version 700 says:

      The Disney deal is for charity.

    • Jaded says:

      Any money she made from the voice-over work was/is/will be donated to Elephants Without Borders.

    • Guest says:

      clearly there can be an in between. the queen just said so.

    • notasugarhere says:

      There is already an in-between that has been ignored for awhile. Prince and Princess Michael of Kent were not supposed to be working royals, technically they remain with nebulous status. They have HRH, do outside work. BUT they also received nearly-free housing at KP for decades until the press found out. Now they pay market rate, still have outside jobs, and still do engagements. That has never been written down, codified, and lines drawn. Now with Harry and Meghan, they’re trying to draw lines that enable them to work for the Crown (if the Crown wants it) and also do outside charity work.

  17. MoreSalt says:

    None of the pics on the desk are of Harry and Meghan… hm.

    • lucia says:

      Are you new here? She also doesn’t have any pics of her own actual children besides Charles. You are aware the queen has four kids in total right? The pictures are about the line of succession.

    • Chelle says:

      She / they sort of move them around to support her overall message and /or themes as PR. Like, I’ve never seen pictures of Zara’s kids or Edward and Sophie’s kids on her desk. She may have but I have to remember. One consistent photo is that of her father. Her mother and Margaret were featured in past. This years theme was continuity in the face of change (Brexit) ala we’re still standing strong.

      Lucia, that was unnecessarily rude. At one point, weren’t you new here too? Or have been new somewhere and didn’t know something or assumed something? Correctly or incorrectly?

  18. Devon says:

    The Royal Reporters are giddy with this statement as they feel it paints H&M as bad guys and shows that the Queen is going to strip their titles. No mention of paying their own way. That doesn’t fit in with the narrative that Meghan is a freeloader and just wants royal perks.

    • Mac says:

      Call me crazy, but shouldn’t everyone be happy they won’t be relying on taxpayer money?

      • Who ARE These People? says:

        The Royal Reporters are not “everyone.”

      • olive says:

        royal reporters will never be happy with anything harry and meghan do. they will always criticize.

      • Silas says:

        No. Now the accusation is that they’re “merching.”

      • Modiglia says:

        Everyone would be happy, but no one believes that’s actually happening.
        There’s already lots of people whinging about how “unfair” it is they may have to follow the laws of Canada and the UK and pay double tax. Millionaires should be paying more taxes and especially the ones they legally owe, not weaseling out because of who their granny is.

  19. lucia says:

    Literally ALL the queen and Charles had to do was stop giving their own damn grandson/son the runaround and this whole public mess would never have happened.

    • MsIam says:

      Exactly. The Queen should be mad at the leaker, not H&M but we know that won’t happen, right William/Charles? I guess her secretary is going to be set up as the fall guy in all of this.

  20. Amelie says:

    Is this the first time she’s ever issued a formal statement regarding Meghan? Sure the palace sent out statements confirming Harry and Meghan’s engagement, wedding details, Archie’s birth etc. But she’s never issued a statement explicitly aimed at Meghan and Harry together. Well there wasn’t much in the statement that was too surprising, including her mention that she would have preferred they remain working royals. I do wonder where the Sussexes will primarily base themselves and I’m guessing it’ll be Canada.

    This will sound really lame but I’m curious: will Archie grow up developing a British accent? If he is raised primarily in Canada, he is going to sound like Meghan/Canadian! Or maybe he’ll be able to code switch? Linguistic stuff like this fascinates me.

    • S808 says:

      Personally speaking, I hope he learns French!

    • deezee says:

      I assume they’ll be going back and forth so he may end up with a half-accent, like the one Kelly and Jack Osborne have. But also it depends on where Archie goes to school. Will he be attending school in Canada, or will they end up in the UK more, so Archie (and any other possible siblings) will go to school there.

    • Modiglia says:

      “Code switch”….. Eeeesh. Maybe not the term to use here.

      • raindrop says:

        I see what you mean, Modiglia, but I’d argue it’s fine to use “code switch” in this context. While the term is most often used in a racial context (ex. someone who switches between AAVE and Standard English as needed … as a side note, the label “Standard English” could maybe use an update), all it means is switching between different dialects, styles or registers.

        I was raised in the southeastern U.S. but I tend to drop most of my distinctly “Southern” expressions and pronunciations when I’m in a more formal academic or business setting. I work with many people (white, Black and Latinx) who do the same. While I think the expectation of code switching can be quite racist/classist, the actual act of code switching isn’t.

        I think Amelie just meant that because Archie will be raised in the UK and Canada (or the U.S.) he will probably learn English in two (or more) different dialects. Like Gillian Anderson, for example. Maybe he’ll switch between dialects, or maybe he’ll speak in a sort of blended dialect.

      • Amelie says:

        Gillian Anderson is EXACTLY who I was thinking of in this context, thank you Raindrop!

        The word I was looking for was actually “bidialectal” but code switching applies here too. I honestly didn’t think of the racial/classist implications of it and I realize it’s a touchy subject but it can be used for accents from different countries, not just speech pattern of people from a racial perspective. I honestly didn’t even think about that when referring to Archie, I was thinking about Meghan’s California accent versus Harry’s British accent. I code switch myself on a daily basis as I am bilingual and speak French and English.

      • Mari says:

        @raindrop: what a nice and informative response

  21. Valiantly Varnished says:

    I actually think her referring to them by name was a to further underline her support for them and to make it more familial. There are tons of non-senior Royals who still retain titles. This statement is a start. And it undercuts the idea that the Queen is unhappy or angry. Even if behind closed doors she is.

    • Feeshalori says:

      This is just like when the Queen emphasized how she was a grandmother in her speech after Diana’s death, after being strong armed to come down from Balmoral to give it in the first place! Always locking the barn door after the horse is stolen. A show of support should have been done by her ages ago.

    • Lightpurple says:

      She also distinguished between “my family” and “royal family.” One is personal, the other is business.

  22. lemonylips says:

    I feel like she wanted to issue a more personal statement, therefor no titles. Like addressing family members.

  23. bonobochick says:

    All I have to say is the Sussexes must have had their evidence locked down and ready to go for them to get everything they wanted. 👏👏 Proud of the Sussexes getting away from that toxic environment.

    • Liz version 700 says:

      Same here! Very proud of them!

    • February Pisces says:

      To think people call Harry stupid. He’s a bloody genius. He’s manages to take on some of the most powerful people in the country and win. They thought he had no way out, that that he just had to take their abuse. They will have their freedom and continue their charity work and the daily mail won’t have any pictures of it 😂😂😂😂😂

      • Miumiiiu says:

        He might be a genius I have no idea but in my opinion it’s not because of this. He had serious leverage (the stories he could tell) and very high paid lawyers. So with that on your side you don’t have to be a genius to succeed.

      • Lenn says:

        Unless this means that the press will now hunt them down in any way they can..

      • February Pisces says:

        @miumiiiu I think he has been underestimated his whole life. People have belittled him, made him out to be a stupid, reckless, party boy . He time and time again proved people wrong. Granted he did have his fuck ups but he always held his hands up and took responsibility. The army really made him the man he became. They thought the Sussex’s would take this smear campaign lying down and that there was nothing they could do about it. It’s pure ignorance on the Cambridge’s and KPs part to think that would always be able to get away with it. but the Sussex’s will have the last laugh. He has spent months planning exactly how to get them where he wants them, and now he can hopefully live the life he wants.

      • February Pisces says:

        @lenn, of course they will still in other ways. I’m hoping whatever deal he’s struck will include the press backing off. Plus the lawsuit is still ongoing so that will have an impact too. They took the long route and really built a solid case.

      • Lurker says:

        February Pisces: It reminds of watching Derek Jacobi in I, Claudius (if you haven’t seen it, find it on the BBC). Everyone thought Claudius was an idiot because of his stutter. I could see in BRF there being a similar mentality due to Harry’s dyslexia and ADHD. In reality, when worked out properly people with learning challenges tend to be above average in intelligence. They just process information differently. I hope Harry returns to school and learns how to put that entrepreneurial spirit to work.

      • Mego says:

        Harry is definitely the smarter of the two brothers.

      • Miumiiiu says:

        February, yeah I don’t think he’s stupid and sorry to hear that that’s been a narrative. He’s doing fine now. It was a team effort with his wife and lawyers of course.

      • notasugarhere says:

        Whatever deal they’re striking with the royals, it doesn’t impact how the press will treat them. That’s up to the lawsuit and how it plays out. Will they even be able to wring legal guarantees that other royal houses will stop leaking against them?

      • PrincessK says:

        @Lurker….totally agree with you about people having learning difficulties having above average intelligence.

    • UptheDownStaircase says:

      If they did that they won’t be considered ‘heroes’. I see things about the RF is ‘racist’ but do we really know details other than was the press agents leak?

      • fatladysinging says:

        You sound like someone with a very limited understanding of racism — someone who thinks that “racist” people wear white sheets or use explicitly racist language and anyone outside that sphere is not racist.

  24. Lurker says:

    They will lose the HRH but I imagine that they will keep being The Duke and Duchess of Sussesex in the same way Edward kept being The Duke of Windsor.

    My personal belief was that they intended to stick it out while Granny was alive and then step down sometime after POW became king but the media scrutiny became too much and decided to duck out early.

    • (TheOG)@Jan90067 says:

      Edward DID keep the HRH styling: HRH Duke of Windsor.

      • Lurker says:

        Wallis was never an HRH. It would have offended the Queen Mum and Queen Mary of Teck had George VI allowed it. I see a similar thing happen here. It wouldn’t surprise me if they even become the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (Except I don’t think Granny wants them capitalizing on the Windsor name, she can probably justify them using Sussex). I wouldn’t be surprised if Meghan gives up (or is asked to give up) the HRH, especially if she decides to return to acting. Harry will be allowed to keep it since he’s a born royal.

      • genie says:

        @Lurker. I disagree somewhat. I don’t think the BRF want to draw any parallels or connections to David and Wallis by stripping HRH from Meghan – or, I hope, to Diana – if only for PR. They already have a pr mess on their hands.

        Similarly, I don’t think that there will ever be another Duke of Windsor. There is too much bad blood associated with that title.

        If the Sussexes give up the HRH voluntarily or choose not to use the honorific, that is different – though I see no indication that they will – yet.

      • Georgina says:

        @genie – HRH isn’t something you give up voluntarily or that is determined due solely to PR reasons. If they aren’t working royals, Meghan will most likely not be an HRH but will remain styled as Duchess of Sussex. Honestly, despite how it is coming across here, most of the public in the UK, even those who support Harry and Meghan, will not want her to be an HRH because they aren’t working royals OR because they are republicans who want the Monarchy disbanded anyway. Harry is the blood son of a monarch, so he will keep the HRH regardless.

    • MsIam says:

      I doubt that. That will only stir up the press even more and the feeling I get from the Queen/Charles is they want to put this to bed as quickly as possible. Charles doesn’t want to go into his reign with this mess hanging around and if he gives Harry most of what he wants then I’m sure he’s hoping it won’t pop up again. He still has to deal with Andrew and possibly W&K marriage. They have a lot of rehab to do on the family image and stripping Harry & Meg of titles will look like they are punishing them. The Queen wants to pay the friendly grandma card. I’m sure the real punishment will come when the will is read so H&M better make a ton of money moving forward.

    • Chelle says:

      I honestly don’t think they will lose anything. The press might be calling for blood and want to see them punished BUT if they are going to still show-up for military parades, Commonwealth activities and the odd state dinner, they will more than likely keep / use their titles for that. They probably won’t be allowed to use the HRH (and rightly so) for foundation business. Who will police it? The press. It will be a fine line but bold enough to not look like QEII got played.

    • notasugarhere says:

      Beatrice and Eugenie retain HRH status, while having outside jobs and running their own charity interests. Beatrice has her own charity, The Little Bee, and has an HRH. Rapist Andrew retains his HRH, along with Prince and Princess Michael of Kent who have outside jobs. Unless the Queen removes all of their HRH status, I don’t see her removing it from Harry and Meghan.

  25. lanne says:

    This whole thing is so, so, dumb. The Royal family is going to regret the way they treated the Sussexes. All of this could have been avoided with so, so little in the way of support. Seriously, two statements of support would have made a world of difference. One after the first set of bad press for Meghan: “The Duchess of Sussex is a cherished member of our family. We are dismayed at the increasingly slanderous treatment of her in the media, and we ask that they refrain from unwarranted speculation during this time of her pregnancy.” Something like that. If I could come up with the structure of a statement in 15 seconds, why the hell counldn’t the courtiers? Who cares if they even believe it or not? I have a sister in law who I seriously dislike–she has shown herself to be selfish and a narcissist. However, I decided that for my brother’s sake, I would welcome her and do what I could to make her feel welcome in our family. I love my brother enough to do that. Does William love his brother enough? A statement like that from KP would have worked wonders for Will’s reputation as a leader–King in waiting as he’s supposed to be. And the “two brothers bound by grief” is part of their story, and that would have played well. One more statement of support during the fall (which may not have been needed, as the earlier statement might have called off the worst of the dogs). That’s it. 2 goddamned statements and this could all have been different. That doesn’t mean that the Sussexes wouldn’t have left eventually, but they could have been phased out over time, without all of the scandal. No matter how this all plays in the UK, a lot of the RF’s reputation is global as well. The RF has shown itself to be utterly mediocre and myopic to a laughable degree. And they are supposed to be the epitome of social class and order?

  26. Maria says:

    As Harry is a prince by birthright and a Counsellor of State, only Parliament can remove these privileges, correct? I am aware the Queen could strip them of the Sussex titles (I doubt she will), but wasn’t sure about these two factors.

    • dynastysurf says:

      The tricky part of that is counselor of state requires being domiciled in the UK. Depending on how much time the Sussexes plan on spending in Canada, that could mean Harry is no longer eligible – he, at least, would have to spend 183 or more days a year in the UK to remain counsellor of state, otherwise it falls to Beatrice until such a time as George is old enough or a new Regency act is passed.

      • Elisa says:

        that’s interesting.
        Also, can he make deals with private companies as a counselor of state? Isn’t that a conflict of interest?

      • dynastysurf says:

        I’d imagine that’s another thing up for discussion still. Theoretically, yes, it would be – which is why things like the Duchy of Cornwall and Duchy of Lancaster exist. They provide income for the monarch/heir to support their families because it is recognized that, by virtue of their position, their abilities to earn income in traditional ways are limited. If H&M want to make money commercially, it would make sense then that they ultimately give up any Duchy funding except for maybe their security when they’re in the UK (although poss not even that – Andrew pays for Bea & Eugenie’s out of pocket)

        But, at this point in the game, having one of the York girls become Counsellor of State wouldn’t be a good look either, given everything going on there. *If* Harry does end up spending more than half the year in Canada, I can see a new Regency Act being passed now bypassing the York girls and making either Camilla (since she’d be counsellor of state anyway once Charles becomes King) or the Earl of Wessex a counsellor of state if Harry has to step down.

      • notasugarhere says:

        It doesn’t fall to Beatrice, it falls to Andrew first. He’s the one who would possibly end up as regent if Harry is out completely. If a rapist gets to retain his HRH and title, they’re not removing them from Harry and Meghan. If Harry left completely, Beatrice would also become a Counsellor, but her father is still ahead of her in the line of succession.

    • dynastysurf says:

      @nota Andrew is already a counsellor of state. Bea is next in line should Harry no longer be eligible, since she is the next in the line of succession who is also of age. From the Royal Family Website:

      “Counsellors of State are appointed from among the following: The Duke of Edinburgh and the four adults next in succession (provided they have reached the age of 21).

      The current Counsellors of State are… The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry and The Duke of York.”

      https://www.royal.uk/counsellors-state

      • notasugarhere says:

        Yes, I know. What seemed to be being implied was Beatrice moving up above Andrew, which won’t happen. Andrew is still first in line to be Regent if Harry is out completely.

  27. Eugh says:

    I can’t believe what a dumpster fire this entire thing was. As someone mentioned before – all they wanted was to be Eugenie and Beatrice, pretty straight forward. The only difference is no one cares about E&B. I’m pretty sure no one made a fuss when Eugenie lived in New York or where her money came from.

    • notasugarhere says:

      No, what they initially proposed was that they be a hybrid like Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. When working for the Crown, their expenses (housing, security, staff) would be paid by the taxpayers (ie. Duchy) just like all the other working royals. When working for their own outside charity interests (InvictusGames, Sentebale), they would fund themselves and be free to live outside the UK during those times.

      • Abena Asantewaa says:

        The fund from The Duchy, has got nothing to do with tax payers. That money is slated from centuries ago for The Prince of Wales ‘s children, so it is their entitlement. The Duchy will switch to William when he becomes Prince of Wales, so H,M won’t be entitled to it. H, M ‘s model would be a template for other spares like Charlotte and Louie. H,M are playing a long game.

      • notasugarhere says:

        You could try to make that argument about Lancaster, but Cornwall isn’t Windsor property. When the monarchy is thrown out, the Windsors don’t walk away with personal ownership of the Duchy. It doesn’t belong to them, it ultimately belongs to the taxpayers. If it did, Diana would have taken half in the divorce settlement. She couldn’t because Charles doesn’t own the Duchy. She had to settle for all of his private funds he’d inherited through the years.

        I wrote above, Harry and Meghan have an unknown amount of time to become financially independent from both SG and Duchy. Unknown because we don’t know when the Queen will pass, with control of the Duchy doing to petulant William.

  28. Tomorrow says:

    as i said before, this is the same thing that PW did when he first got married. The only differnce is Harry and Meghan told everyone about it and not what PW did, pretending to be a pilot when he was partying too much. They will come back and be senior royal again in a couple of years once their family life is more settled. Now when is Kate going to be a full time royal since her children are at school.now

    • Jen says:

      I doubt they ever return as senior working royals unless there is a tragedy. I think they’re just done with the treatment they’ve received.

      And Kate will never be full time royal because that would require effort and initiative as opposed to keenness.

    • Lurker says:

      I don’t think so. I do think however there is a greater benefit here and I think they convinced the Queen of this by agreeing to pass this their enterprises and allow younger spare royals like Charlotte, and Louis to someday have a stake in their business or to fund them if they are successful in this.

  29. KellyRyan says:

    Fact Check Monarchy Net Worth 88 Billion

    Megan and Harry will be well funded and the amount will not be disclosed with honesty. NDA’s on both sides, limits on the press coverage.

    TQ is doing nothing more than covering her anatomy as quickly as possible.

    • Lurker says:

      I agree. They will agree to only say nice things about the royals and in turn they’ll be allowed to draw from the private coffers. At least for a time.

    • S says:

      Yes, this is most likely. Because if too many people, get too many peeks behind that royal curtain, the whole show collapses, which is what The Queen has lived in fear of her entire existence—that the monarchy will end on her watch.

    • notasugarhere says:

      Elizabeth Mounbatten-Windsor is not the monarchy. Yes, she has enormous private wealth, but the trappings of state (palaces, crown jewels, duchies) do not belong to her personally.

      • Maria says:

        Are Sandringham and Balmoral the only properties she owns?

      • notasugarhere says:

        In the UK, yes that we know of publicly. There is talk of a Kentucky horse breeding operation too. But they know how to keep things hidden. No one knew there were real estate investments made for Beatrice and Eugenie (what would have been Sarah’s settlement) if the sale of those properties hadn’t been made public a few years ago.

      • kerwood says:

        She DID own a plantation in Barbados but I believe she sold it. The Queen isn’t the richest woman in the world because of the crown jewels. She has a private stash worth billions. I’ll bet she’s going to slip Harry and Meghan a little something under the table to make sure their security is taken care of and that they live up to the standards of the grandson and grand-daughter in law of the Queen of England. They could probably live off the spare change in one of her handbags.

  30. Catherine says:

    “My family” used repeatedly is a power move, I love her.

    • Silas says:

      Andrew does as well. The Queen has pulled a lot of power moves for him.

      I believe she supported the Sussexes and except perhaps for some jealousy, Charles did as well but because they both wanted to pull William closer, they were both ostriches about doing anything beyond providing funding for a separate Sussex office.

    • fatladysinging says:

      You love a racist, rapist-protecting snob?

    • kerwood says:

      It’s not a ‘power move’ if you don’t have any power. Harry and Meghan ALLOWED the Queen to issue this statement to save face. That’s because they love and respect her, even though she’s given them no reason to do either.

  31. Guest says:

    Hahaha. Goof luck William and Charles. Have fun throwing each other the bus.

    • Liz version 700 says:

      I hope William enjoys getting what he asked for. He and Kate and their poor kids are going to be microscopically analyzed… did Kate shrug? Is William gardening again? Whoever decided to run Meghan off and get Harry to divorce her so he could be their piñata again… you got half your wish. You ran them off, but your abuse made them stronger together. I sincerely cannot wait until Karma comes for thee. This was all so unnecessary and stupid. A family was put through hell over petty jealousies and enormous egos.

    • Taryn says:

      Yupp, Charles and Will are now going to have to work very very hard to be interesting again and carry the full weight of the monarchy, which is of course what they want, but it will be extremely bland and unfulfilling. The sussexes picked up the slack for the last two years, and K+W were only praised when it was to bring H+M down. I can’t wait to see the Cams actually…work!

      • notasugarhere says:

        Charles already works hard.

        William and Kate are the problem here, as they’ve been trying to establish the idea that royals shouldn’t do local engagements or be seen often. William wanted to set up a model where they do umbrella orgs and take credit for the work of other people.

        Trouble is, Harry and Meghan work and want credit for the work they do. That’s at the root here. The troubled financials for the previous foundation, Harry and Meghan bringing in the only money, the second director quitting in four months, the public article about having to protect Hubb money from W&K.

      • Taryn says:

        @notasugarhere Oh yes I know charles works. But the rest of them are not that interesting to me. When the Queen’s reign is over I don’t think even with his work ethic and W+K in the spotlight it will be enough to hold attention. They could have really utilized the sussexes in that area.

      • L4frimaire says:

        The Sussexes actually had few engagements the past year, and don’t think that was all their doing or not wanting to work, now that some of these details are coming out. They didn’t want to be seen as outworking the Cambridge’s. Also, just found out that Princess Anne doesn’t use the Royal Rota for her events, not that they are that interested in her work. H &M probably were stifled in how much they could do and a lot of their work had a lot of impact and helped those causes immensely. If they get this foundation launched in the next year, will be exciting to see. Hope the impact on the Rota is less agenda driven writing, more accuracy and more diversity. That crew can go back to writing about dresses and what the Queen had for tea.

      • PrincessK says:

        I need to understand how Princess Anne is able to be a working royal and not use the royal rota….does the royal rota refer to a rota for press coverage or royal duties.

    • February Pisces says:

      Remember the whole ‘skip a generation’ press from a few years ago? I wonder if we will seen more of that moving forward. Looking at it now, I can’t figure out if it was William sticking it to his father by throwing him under the bus, or if it was Ma Middleton campaigning for William to take the thrown faster, cos she can’t wait 30 years for Kate to be queen.

  32. aquarius64 says:

    The title pulls better not happen, not with Andrew still has his. That will be a new round of bad press for the Windsors..

    This is not Edward and Wallis. They still come back to the U.K. I bet leverage over William is financial shenanigans with the Royal Foundation, like using the funds to pay the Middletons for their failing business.

  33. Marigold says:

    If they do gain their freedom from all of this, they have the potential to do wonders for awareness, for fund raising, and for philanthropic start-ups all over the world. They could be like Audrey Hepburn or Angelina Jolie–using their status and celebrity to display for the world the causes that matter.

    And…they could also be happy, able to answer false press freely and able to speak their minds without fear of social and financial retribution from Bubba and Pa.

  34. FH says:

    No the titles and HRH will remain because even the atrocious royal reporters agree that when diana lost her HRH it gave the family so much negative publicity.
    Also with this “soft spoken grandma” tone the queen is taking it will look really bad PR wise for them to strip the first biracial member of the family of titles/HRH.

    • notasugarhere says:

      Neither the Queen nor Charles took Diana’s HRH from her. Fergie retained her HRH after their divorce in spring 1996. Diana traded her HRH for more cash from Charles, her solicitor admitted it. Her goal was to clean him out financially, which she did because he had to borrow private money from the Queen to meet all of Diana’s money demands.

      After the fact, Diana realized she’d have to curtsy to Fergie from now on. Pitched a fit and claimed the Windsors stole the HRH from her (pack of lies). The Queen then removed Fergie’s HRH and issued an announcement that anyone divorcing out of the family would lose HRH.

  35. Coffee says:

    Interesting that the US was not included.
    Maybe the Us govt hasnt yet agreed to providing them security?

    Idk how this makes more dependent and not rely on public funds when the funds for their security are now coming from
    Other gov’ts.

    • Elisa says:

      good question about who covers the cost for their security in the US or Canada. How is that handled in the US with the family of former presidents (eg Chelsea Clinton)?

      • Lightpurple says:

        If Chelsea Clinton has security, she pays for it herself. Same for Caroline Kennedy, Luci Baines Johnson, Lynda Bird Johnson Robb, Tricia Nixon Cox, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, the four Carter children, Patti Davis, Ron Reagan, the 4 kids of George H.W. Bush who weren’t president. The Obama daughters may still have some limited Secret Service protection if they choose but Malia chooses to do without most of the time.

    • Eyeroll says:

      Haven’t read their website in detail, but is that where it states that security will be paid by residing country? Not sure where that detail is from.

    • MrsBanjo says:

      The US isn’t a member of the Commonwealth. Canada is. Some of their duties are specific to the CW, so it makes no sense to include the US even if she was born and raised there.

    • Olenna says:

      “Public funds, you say? The word “transition” is the key, but obviously for some people the transition can’t happen fast enough. I just left Twitter and it is unbelievable how the RRs are still stoking the fires to burn the Duchess of Sussex at the stake and are encouraging vicious, hateful comments so that Ole Queenie’s statement has more negative meanings with which to fan the flames. This is an unprecedented family matter, but people are so pressed to get rid of the Duchess of Sussex that they truly DGAF what Queenie says or what the Sussexes laid out in their plan. In their tiny minds, the Sussexes are out, like literally out the royal family for good, and they don’t want them supporting Queenie as minor royals because they don’t want to pay for the biracial Duchess and her son now, through the transition to independence or ever.

      • MsIam says:

        Yeah, but really how long can the press keep that up? Eventually, even the die hard Meg haters will get tired of it, plus with Brexit, people will be mad/concerned about the impact of that. I expect that Harry and Meg will be out of sight for a while, especially Meghan so it will just be rehashing the same old stuff. The public will want something new to chew on, I wonder who or what that will be?

      • Olenna says:

        @MsIam, the press will probably keep this up until something tragic happens, then they’ll play dumb and act like they didn’t contribute to the situation. Just like they are acting now, BTW; then they’ll make money off that story, too. Vicious cycle. Also, it doesn’t seem to matter that the RRs and haters don’t regularly see Meghan (they really couldn’t GAF about Harry). She is their whipping girl for all their own misery and bigotry, and professional and personal disappointments. RRs write made up stories and haters post on blogs and SM commenting about her repeatedly throughout the day, everyday. Can’t imagine who would replace her in twisted minds like these.

    • jwoolman says:

      Doubt that they would plan to live in the US while Trump & Co. is in power. Things are way too weird here and getting weirder. Meghan can vote absentee. Canada seems nice…

    • BabsORIG says:

      I’m assuming you didn’t read the Sussexes’ statement on Sussex Royal? Read it first, you’ll have a better understanding of the situation.

  36. Meg says:

    I honestly wonder how estranged they’ll be, especially from the Cambridges, after this. Publicly they’ll attend weddings and funerals of course but i cant see them spending much time together just the two families do you?

    • Ina says:

      I want to be a fly on the wall at Anmer Hall. Is this what Kate bargained for? She really needs to work now haha!!

      • Myra says:

        Without Meghan as a punching bag for the press.

      • Where'sMyTiara says:

        Meanwhile Meghan will be unfettered and free and STILL getting more publicity for her REAL work from 2000+mi away than Lazy Kate for her stilted cosplays of concern. It’s a shame Kate’s patronages cannot ditch her for non-performance.

        Cambridges brought this entirely on themselves, the hyenas of the libel rags will set their teeth for them and *their* children now. They’ll have to OMG pick up the pace and do actual damn work, and they’ll hate it.

        I’m thinking about buying stock in popcorn.

    • Elisa says:

      In one of the articles I read over the weekend it said they closed down a family group on whats app several months ago because of all their falling-outs…if that’s true, I don’t think they will spent a lot of time together in the future.

    • MsIam says:

      When have they ever spent much time together? Look, you did not hear Meghan’s friends bashing Kate or even Will in the press did you? All of the vitriol came from one side only. So I don’t think this will change anything about their relationships, no matter how many joint statements they make.

  37. Sequinedheart says:

    That’s nice and all but like previous posters have stated, too little too late.
    There could have been such better handling of this with regard to protecting Meg in the beginning. I hate the old mentality of “we’re Royal, you’re in it now. Stop complaining and just get on with it”. It’s extremely unusual for someone not from that world to just settle into.
    How many years was Kate protected and kept out of the way until she was ready, yet still she does the bare bloody minimum..
    Like any work place environment, one can typically sense when things aren’t right and you’re being shoved out. Imagine that on the level they are experiencing.
    Get it, Sussexes!

  38. February Pisces says:

    I hope this agreement involved them permanently blocking the Cambridge’s and Kensington Palace from colluding with the British media against them ever again? If I was harry I would have used that ‘neuclear hard evidence’ as leverage and the next negative story about them, the neuclear evidence is released. I’m assuming something to that effect happened. I hope there is an assurance of their safety too, and a nice payout to set them up. Its most likely why harry agreed to co-sign that weak ass statement to save williams ass.

    • Myra says:

      The Cambridge’s will NO NOTHING until it’s on instagram. William better hope Charles lives long.

    • UptheDownStaircase says:

      Oh please.. M & H have been colluding with the media as much as anyone else. I dislike this idea that they are innocents up against the big, bad world because they aren’t. They’re adult who hired their own press agents, have their own circle who leaks.

      I hope all of this blows over but the one thing H & M doing is making a ‘Sussex’ brand. That’s crass. If they make money off of it, then I hope they will pay British taxes on it.

      • MrsBanjo says:

        Charles makes money off of being PoW. Andrew has constantly traded favours for money – including with a dead rapist paedophile. But sure. Go off.

      • February Pisces says:

        All public figures work with the press as part of their job. That is what harry and Meghan do also. But they haven’t colluded with them on a daily basic to defame and destroy another family members life. That is what the Cambridge’s have been doing everyday for the past two years and that is the difference. No matter what they endured, harry and Meghan never trashed the Cambridge’s back in the press. People tried to pin the Rose Hanbury leak on them, but that was release by the Sun first, and the Sun are definitely not allies with the Sussex’s. The Sussex’s have always wanted a healthy relationship with reporters and they have stated that they are looking forward to working with young journalists and not the murky tabloids that have harassed them.

      • Guest2.0 says:

        I guess the Sussexes were just following the Cambridge’s lead:

        Kate and Wills Inc: Duke and Duchess secretly set up companies to protect their brand – just like the Beckhams
        https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2541509/Duke-Duchess-Cambridge-Kate-Wills-secretly-set-companies-protect-brand.html

      • notasugarhere says:

        Harry and Meghan have not been throwing W&K under the bus for the last three years. They haven’t done anything to try to submarine those two; they’ve just been doing their jobs and asking for equitable treatment. What we’ve seen from Harry and Meghan regarding media is Omid, a fact-based reporter, to get facts out. Omid is one of the only middle-of-the-road reporters who relies on facts and does not pick sides.

        Meanwhile, we’ve had W&K&Carole leaking like sieves, attacking Meghan, and using Katie Nicholl and the Middletons PR cronies at the Fail to attack this pair. The colluding with the press comes from the direction of KP and Berkshire.

      • L4frimaire says:

        Of course they’ll pay taxes on their income, in Meghans case for US,UK,and Canada. Why would they be exempt from that? And of course they leak, but do it more strategically and more to protect themselves, not undermine other people and their work. There is a lot they haven’t and probably will never reveal.

  39. Myra says:

    A couple in their mid 30’s wanting to be financially independent how can anyone find fault with that…..oh wait the Brits

  40. AprilMay says:

    I think the lack of titles in the statement is more to make it more personable and familial. This is straight from the queen and Harry’s grandmother. The word family appears in it a lot and she refers to him as her grandson as well. Doubt it has anything to do with their titles.

  41. Loretta says:

    The Queen needed to do this statement months (even a year) ago to stop bullying and racism and now probably nothing of this would happened.

  42. Jax says:

    This statement is quite personal, interesting tact. Queenie basically making sure its not seen as Charles or William had involvement in what she had to say.

    Another interesting thing, she confirms SHE would have wanted H&M to stay as full time royals, thus openly admitting its the Sussexes who want out, on their terms. Basically this statement is exactly the same as the one H&M released as they dropped the bombshell.

    This statement buys them time, but also sets it out that this transition could be quite long too, maybe a year or 2? The splitting time between CA & UK starts now, not having the 5% from public for their office will start now too, I imagine the no Royal Rota on their engagements will start now but the transition to 50% working for the FIRM and 50% their own charities and financial independence will take a while. If the FIRM has their way, they’ll probably try to slow walk the transition keeping in H&M for now until the bad press for the Firm dies down.

    The next two days to the rest of the week will be interesting, KP and CH will continue to brief their tabloid friends for sure, but how are the tabs going to go about that? Just in the last 24hrs, MSM has been bold in calling out the Palace PR, the times with that William bully on front page, NYT & CNN calling out Dan Wooten and that he got leaked that info from KP’s source by name too and him trying to say well CH also briefs negatively against PC’s sons….. I’m sure the blame Meghan thing is going to go on, but is the tide starting to turn?

    Since H&M went public with this, KP has been in overdrive briefing, CH as well, first with the shock, anger, blackmail “they will be punished”, “they’ll have to change/take down their website” “they’ll lose their titles” “can’t put my arms around them anymore” “different entities’ BLAME MEGHAN! and oh “i’m not a bully, even Harry said so” (I think KP put out that statement, but I double Harry actually agreed to it especially given how Will hasn’t come out and put out a statement about all the other things out there in his name?), they can’t keep with that can they? Its too obvious now.

    Am I the only one waiting for another shoe to drop?

    • Lurker says:

      This statement sounds like The Queen has full knowledge of the situation between The Sussexes. The concern note strikes me that there is more to this than meets the eye but I also believe the answer to be incredibly simple. In the last 18 months, these two got married, got pregnant, had a baby, moved, are the most recognized couple in the world, have dealt with a racist and horrid UK media, and there’s a lot we still don’t know. The first 3 on my list in an 18 month timespan seems overwhelming. I think the queen is giving them a chance for their life to calm down, have another baby in private, and strengthen their marriage.

      • notasugarhere says:

        Their marriage isn’t the royal marriage in trouble here. Their marriage is plenty strong, hence this organized plan to get away from the back-stabbing family.

      • Lurker says:

        I never said their marriage was in trouble. Does a marriage have to be in trouble to possess a desire to strengthen it? Especially given what they went through in the first 20 months.

      • notasugarhere says:

        Your clear implication was their marriage was in need of help.

      • Lurker says:

        Help to stabilize and find their footing again after these past 18 months, yes. Who can deny the insanity that is their life since the second they married, especially when they were expecting Archie.

      • notasugarhere says:

        I don’t agree. The insanity has only made them stronger. I think what this move shows is that their marriage is stronger than anything else, including the Royal Family.

    • On Lainey, she has photos of that front page wher first it was about William not being able to put his arms around him … changed to….same everything but title is now, I just want us on the same team….very interesting….

  43. Stefanie says:

    As a Canadian – where’s the petition I can sign to make sure none of our money goes towards funding them? Nothing personal – but I am not cool with funding royalty. So many better things to spend or invest our money in. Also, as an aside – if you are independent, be independent. Pay for yourselves – security costs included, all costs included. This situation reminds me of my own brother and sister in law – bitching about her controlling family, then taking large “gifts” from them to pay for their wedding, their house, their kid – nothing is free.

    • Maria says:

      Too late! Justin has offered to fund their security while they are here.

      • Stefanie says:

        Well, we have a minority government – let’s push the Bloc and NDP to make this an issue.

      • Scotchy says:

        @Maria
        I just saw the CBC article regarding Trudeaus grand gesture. Yikes. It hasn’t passed so I suggest talking to your MP’s and stating how you feel if you feel so inclined. I mean he shouldn’t have said anything or offered anything as its not his place to promise Canadian tax payers monies without the House support. I suppose it’s on brand as again he likes his celebs and he likes his selfies. Siiiiggghhh

      • Eugh says:

        Where is that? Recent headline: Canada hasn’t decided if it would cover security costs for Harry and Meghan: Morneau. Cost of protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has been pegged at $1.7 million a year

        It’s not up to just JT either to decide.

      • layla beans says:

        Nope, hasn’t said that. “Canada hasn’t decided if it would cover security costs for Harry and Meghan: Morneau.” Everyone, take a breath.

    • Jax says:

      They’re still HRH they will have Palace UK security support, same way they currently have, they’ve been here for 6 weeks now with palace security. Only when doing official public engagements here in Canada will CA pay for their security. I need us Canadians to stay calm.

    • Miumiiiu says:

      I agree with all that stephanie! But I bet we are already paying for a lot of extras for rich people that are just as distasteful. The expenses for senators and MPs, what they get for retirement, Andrew sheer’s private school scandal, etc. I don’t think their security amount would be anything special. But it would be good PR for them to not take it from public funds and they’re not terrible at PR so I’m not too worried about it.

    • Devon says:

      I am so annoyed by these comments. If they are part of the RF, even if not senior royals, they will be targets for terrorism, kidnapping, etc. They should have government security and it should be paid for by taxpayers. If you don’t want any taxpayers’ money going towards the RF, leave the Commonwealth. Otherwise, suck it up.

      • Stefanie says:

        That would be their problem, not ours. No one asked them to move here. Bear the burden and consequence of your own decisions, that’s what being independent actually entails.

      • iamcait says:

        Are you a Canadian taxpayer?

      • Sam Louise says:

        Are you kidding? Are you a Canadian? I am. Paying astronomical fees for H & M to live here is nuts. And don’t make such an outrageous statement that I, a Canadian who has lived here for 55 years, need to up and leave my country. If they want to move here, they can organize security and $$. FYI: we don’t pay for the Royal Family.

      • Maria says:

        I think what Devon is getting at is that if you feel that strongly about it, campaign for a referendum to abolish or sever the influence of the monarchy in Canada instead of getting upset about Harry and Meghan.

      • mj says:

        By this logic, those Americans unhappy with their current administration’s policies, should…. err… leave or suck it up? I do hope they’re taking notes.

      • Maria says:

        Not really the same, since Americans don’t pay for two heads of state, only one (Canada does pay for the Queen whenever she is in Canada, or acting as the Queen of Canada abroad). And their term limits do end, whatever they may attempt to do.

    • Lady D says:

      Where’s the petition to get us out of the Commonwealth? That’s the one I want to sign.

    • kerwood says:

      It’s very interesting that so-called Canadians (or people who claim to be) are so up in arms about whether or not we spend 1MILLION DOLLARS to protect the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Have you put this much energy into making sure that reservations have clean water? Have you spent this much time thinking about the slaughter of aboriginal women in our country? Oh wait, I forgot. None of that affects White people, so who cares? Amirite?

      Spending one million dollars to ensure that members of the royal family and the Canadians that live around them and come in contact with them aren’t targets of terrorists or other evildoers is a small price to pay to THIS Canadian.

  44. HK9 says:

    Wow….The Queen has classic resting bitch face doesn’t she?? 🙂

  45. Maria says:

    It really did give very few details. They are going to spend half their time in Canada where apparently that idiot Trudeau has already offered to pay for their security. If they think they are going to get a friendly welcome from a country that has to pay for their security, they are in for a huge surprise.

    • Myra says:

      And you speak for Canada? Stop with the drama

      • Stefanie says:

        She speaks for this Canadian. I don’t want a single penny of our money to go towards funding royalty. Do what you want – but pay for yourselves.

      • Scotchy says:

        She also speaks for this Canadian WOC that is from BC and not only doesn’t want to pay for them but doesn’t want to deal with all the hoopla this re-location is going create in the province where I live . Move where you want just not at another countries expense.

      • Maria says:

        @Myra, this story has been all over the Canadian papers with the majority of people writing in have rejected the idea that the taxpayers should be on the hook for H&M’s security given how wealthy they are. The country is deeply indebted and Canadians feel their taxes are high enough.

      • Devon says:

        They are part of the RF still. Government should pay for their security and it is quite telling that so many are getting bent out of shape about a little bit of money going to pay for it. Would you feel better if you kept your little bit of change and they died because of lack of security?

      • Maria says:

        @Devon, it’s hardly a bit of money, it’s close to a million$. And if they want security, they can pay for it themselves.

      • Myra says:

        Well take it up with Trudeau…it will probably come out to 1 US penny per person…stop with the drama

      • mj says:

        I’d prefer my “little bit of change” go towards programs benefiting our own citizens instead of these multimillionaires who can well afford to pay their own way and then some. And to the statement – what if they died because of a lack of security? GTFO with that attitude – that’s on THEM, not on us Canadians. Start a gofundme or better yet, they can go live in the USA – more celebrities there so safety in numbers.

      • Maria says:

        @Myra, are you serious? Do you know how far that money can go to feed the homeless and to open more homeless shelters? “Stop with the drama” , you can stop with the nonsense!

      • BabsORIG says:

        The only Canadians making a big deal and a lot of noise about Harry and Meghan and not wanting Canadian taxpayer to foot any security bills are those that can’t read or can’t be bothered to get accurate information from Sussex Royal but rather choose to believe the Maga tabloids. Sussexes explicitly say they want to be financially independent and not live off of the tax payer. The statement TQ issued reiterated that. Why are people continuing to ignorantly carry on about our tax dollars. If the Sussexes don’t want to live off of British taxpayer, what makes people think they’re so eager to live off of Canadian taxpayer? Also, between the two of them, they have about 50 million USD, that means they’re moving here as millionaire investors. Foreign Investors don’t live off of our money, and I’m speaking as a Canadian WOC.

    • Olenna says:

      Why should the statement have more details? This was initially a family matter that got blown out the water and totally distorted by the tabloids, so I don’t understand why you feel you are owed more information. Just like Anne, Pedo Andy, and Edward, the Sussexes are not public property or assets. People should now focus on who else in the royal extended family should start making more of an effort to get off the dole. You know, like start paying their own rent and staff.

    • layla beans says:

      Give me a break. As if the PM can just tell the head of the GD Commonwealth to pound sand. Any idea the layers of protocol involved here? It’s gonna be crazy. I would love to be the immigration lawyer on this one. It would be fascinating to deal with the levels of bureaucracy and protocol.

    • deezee says:

      And where exactly did you read that? That is total BS. And their security will be paid for by themselves or the BRF (whatever they work out) unless working in Canada on official duty in which case, yeah the governemnt pays. And NEWS FLASH: That is whichever party is in power.

      And if you dislike it so much, go vote for someone that wants to leave the commonwealth.

    • layla beans says:

      Nah, bro. CBC just updated the story and the Evening Standard is out to lunch. No promises for funds.

    • Jaded says:

      Maria – Canada has NOT offered to pay anything for their security expenses. Read the Canadian news – our Finance Minister has stated that no decision has been made regarding funding for H&M, and Trudeau has said nothing to the effect that we will pick up the tab.

      • Maria says:

        Ok, then it was misreported. It does seem to me that the implication on their website is that the residing country would cover their security costs. But the Queen in her statement said that they don’t want to receive public funds, but the RF last week was having discussions with the Canadian government. So what was all that about?

      • Myra says:

        Maria: so you basically made the story up. Just WOW

      • VS says:

        @Maria ——- I have encountered some Maga voters in the US (not the ones who support Trump because of the tax breaks); you are not very different from them. You read something, you didn’t bother to check (even google), then you went on a misinformation parade………I hope you achieved what you wanted to. Well we are on a bitchy website, I will give you that!

    • kerwood says:

      @Maria, Funny that as such a loyal Canadian, you don’t follow Canadian news. The Prime Minister of Canada DIDN’T promise a penny in security.

      Now, what are the words to the national anthem?

  46. val says:

    Harry has way too much dirt on these people for them to fight him much about any of this. I do think that while Kate may have been somewhat jealous of Meghan, but is now panicking because she will have to step it up. All eyes will be on her now and William too. It is a shame because had they formed a union with Meghan and Harry, they could have been a great team. I gather the regrets will not take long to evolve, because Harry and Meghan will do great things together.

  47. Keira says:

    Folks on IG have mentioned the “Princess Madeleine model,” as in marry a foreigner whose career is in his country (US), live there most of the time, have kids (do they have titles?), and return to Sweden for key events. The monarchies are evolving. Thoughts?

    • Maria says:

      The difference with the Madeleine model, is that Chris her husband, refused a title and has a full time job as a financial advisor or something.

    • Sandra says:

      The King of Sweden decided to streamline his royal family. Only the Crown Princess Victoria and her family now have HRH titles. Princess Madeleine and Prince Carl Philip (and their families) used to have them, but they lost them after the streamlining.

    • dynastysurf says:

      Madeleine’s kids do have titles – Princess Leonore is Duchess of Gotland, Prince Nicolas is Duke of Angermanland, and Princess Adrienne is Duchess of Blekinge. They just don’t have the HRHs before their names anymore, and in Sweden, dukedoms aren’t hereditary, so it’s not like these will be passed down their family lines forever, which makes it easier to streamline when their children will definitely receive no titles at any point. There are a lot of issues still remaining about Madeleine and her children surrounding education, but since the BRF doesn’t have those same rules, Harry wouldn’t face those.

    • notasugarhere says:

      It is more similar to the unofficial way Prince and Princess Michael of Kent have been handled for years. That situation has always been fuzzy.

    • PrincessK says:

      A key point is Meghan. Right now she is quite wrongly a target for hatred over the fact that most beloved Harry is leaving Britain. I would be very surprised if she makes any public appearances with the royal family for the foreseeable future. The statement inferred that Archie will be raised in Canada but will keep in contact with his British heritage. They will eventually be permanently outside the U.K.

      A great pity, l would have loved to see Archie on the balcony and Meghan at a state banquet….l can’t see either of them happening but l hope l am wrong.

  48. WindyCityGal says:

    If only the Queen had been this publicly supportive while they (read: Meghan) were so heavily scrutinized. Folks need to realize that they are stepping back NOT down as members and have every right to do so as “minor” royals in the BRF. Let’s be clear: while they made this decision together as a couple, Harry has long wanted to take a step back from royal life.

    Keep in mind, this historic move also sets the precedent/blueprint for future royals (including Charlotte and Louis).

    • Artsygirl says:

      I don’t think the queen has to issue a statement of support to meghan every time the press criticizes her..she even admitted that her friends warned her not to marry Harry because of all the criticism or attacks that she will have to endure..but she knows this going in. I actually think the press has not been as harsh to them as compared to sarah Ferguson, Diana and Camilla. I mean they were able to vacTion for 6 weeks in Canada without even 1 single paparazzi picture. compared to Kate, Kate was shamed by paparazzi by publishing a topless photo while they were on a state visit..or photos showing her underwear when her skirt is blown up..fergie being called duchess of Pork, and Kate being called waity Katey..to survive the royal family, you need to develop a thick skin, why let it get to you? They could just shrug it off beCause most people don’t believe in tabloids anyway. so in the end, i think it is for the good, Harry never wanted to be a royal anyway. but if they want out, they should be financially independent and pay for their own security, have to give up frogmore, etc. or else they will be criticize heavily.

      • aria says:

        i agreed with everything but not on kate part. I know its wrong to take photo of her during her holiday. But when she was in official duty and wearing knee length dress then she must have common sense to wear underwear. This that too much to wear? This is not the first time it happened. many times during their dating period, kate has flash their underwear in public. You can excuse for two time not more than that. For waity katie because she waited for him and follow him everywhere. she doesn’t have a proper job , all day she slept and party all night and fall out of club in drunk mode. that’s why press mocked her for waiting for the ring for 9 years.

      • Taryn says:

        @Artsygirl The queen/firm should have come out a year ago and issued one firm statement to the media like she has done with Kate to stop writing false and vilifying stories about the DoS. Then we wouldn’t be having this issue. Kate, Camilla, Fergie, and Diana have all certainly been put through the ringer, but the one thing people still dont seem to realize is that one simply cannot just “shrug off” racism. George, charlotte, young harry/will, nor the york girls were ever compared to chimps. Stories weren’t written about kate being a war criminal funder because she likes avocado, or how she and her mother lives in a “gang infested” area. They bullied this woman so badly while she was carrying her first child it seriously affected her and her husbands mental health. This attitude around her was different than the rest because it created a culture around meghan markle that was comfortable with disguising racism and bigotry with trivial things blown way out of proportion. People of colour don’t need to develop thick skins, white people just need to stop being racists.

      • AMM says:

        The Canadian press and the Canadian people were Kinder to them. That’s why they were able to not be stalked or harrassed for 6 weeks. Across the pond, the tabloids are accusing them of being in bed with Russian millionaires backed by the Kremlin and are calling Meghan every name under the sun. Peris Morgan has released like ten foul mouthed rants against Meghan (I’m seriously concerned about how unhinged he is).

        I agree the press shouldn’t have released private photos of Kate on the beach, but the skirt blow up pictures were all at official engagements. And happend, what, 8-10 times? That’s on Kate. Dont wear flowy skirts sans undergarments on a windy day in front of tons of cameras. That wasnt a smear campaign. She just kept doing it for some reason. Enduring “waity Katy” and “Duchess Dolittle” is a lot easier to endure than being considered the actual Devil. Especially since she could have easily fixed the “Duchess Dolittle” thing by, you know, working more.

      • notasugarhere says:

        Nothing, absolutely nothing Diana, Fergie, or Kate faced is comparable to what Meghan has been subjected to for years. Valid criticism is one thing. An active, racist smear campaign where she is attacked for 1) working 2) doing what other royals do and 3) simply existing is completely different.

      • It’s one thing to know it, it must be another thing to live it. I would not be so quick to judge how all that negativity should slide off her back until you’ve lived in it.

      • VS says:

        @Artsygirl ——— you have the audacity to compare what Kate/Camilla/Fergie went through with what Diana and Meghan went through?
        I put Diana with Meghan because Diana is the only one who could have possibly understood Meghan here…. The difference between Diana and Meghan is racism. Diana never had to deal with her kids be compared to chimpanzees; Archie was already called spoiled and he is not even 1 year old; Archie was already scaring Harry and he wasn’t even 5 months old!!! are you freaking kidding me?

        Kate was called waity because she waited for W. Isn’t that true? What was said about Meghan and avocado or Meghan and the Hubb ladies had nothing to do with the truth. Diana was literally hounded by those people, so was Meghan. Any woman with any type of personality who marries into the RF, gets that treatment. So far only Diana and Meghan rose above the common royal wives.

        The difference between Meghan and the others is Meghan had the strength to say NO. I do hope more royal wives got the same strength. Marrying in the family should not be synonymous to have all jealous/insecure women/men come after you and bully you to distract from their own misery……….

        Meghan and Harry said NO and I hope more will follow. This nonsense that marrying in the RF means abuse should STOP!

    • PrincessK says:

      I think the Queen and Charles should have dealt more with the toxic sibling rivalry between William and Harry. There is total lack of family unity with the Windsor’s, they all operate separately and care more about their own positions first and foremost. We know that Charles keeps a wide berth when it comes to his sons and this is the result. Charles should have warned William about his jealous behaviour but that would have been rather hypocritical….

      I am sure that William must have regrets, he never thought his baby brother would give it up so soon, and neither did l, things must have been worse than we all imagined.

  49. Jaded says:

    The Queen needs to hold the British tabloids accountable for the shameful way they hounded Meghan into having to take this step, along with Harry. That M&H had to start two lawsuits against the tabloids speaks volumes of how unrestrained they are in the mendacious filth that they publish and how far they’ll go (hacking phones, cozying up to her her sick family, etc.) to create dirt on them. The Queen also has to get the RR’s, and Kensington and Buck Palace courtiers under control and on the same page as they’re a big part of the leaking problem. As others have stated, she could have handled this much more seriously but she didn’t and, as such, is culpable in revealing how truly f*cked up the BRF is, especially in light of trying to protect Andrew and his despicable relationship with Epstein and Maxwell.

    • Lurker says:

      Jaded: I would be willing to bet that will be left to Charles and William to admonish the tabloids and bring in accountability. Especially since the leaks very likely came from their respective households. I’m no royalist but I genuinely believe the Queen still has it in her to tweak both of their ears and tell them to get their houses under control. Why should she deal with it when her idiot son and grandson caused the mess?

      I also suspect that the PR of the households will be slimmed down to Buckingham only to prevent a situation like this again.

    • DM2 says:

      I agree — and I think it speaks volumes that this statement was released as soon as it was after the “meeting”; it’s like Harry wanted this released as soon as possible to avoid it going down the pipe via various courtiers, etc., before publication so as to avoid prying eyes on it. There was probably a good reason why the meeting didn’t have a lot of staff present. If a statement like this was presented by HRH many moons ago, things might not have transpired to this point.

      Jeez, I hope we don’t have to pay for their security, though; we’re tired of supporting the one-percenters as it is.

  50. Myra says:

    Harry is Royal by birth….he will never lose his title..

    • UptheDownStaircase says:

      He can lose the Sussex title because that was given but cannot lose the Prince title unless he renounces it.

      • Myra says:

        So if that happens Meghan would be called Princess Harry of Wales? The British Media will just DIE…I love it!!!

      • notasugarhere says:

        The ‘Wales’ part might be in question. Wales was the defacto surname because he was the son of the Prince of Wales. Once he is the son of the King, we don’t know what the “of X” would be.

      • Myra says:

        Oh yes… I see my error. That title is for William. So maybe just a Princes and Princess of the UK

  51. Kristina says:

    Is the issue about monetizing the royal family? I don’t know the rules. Harry and Meghan want to make money- are they allowed to do it as “Sussex Royal,” when the royal family isn’t allowed to profit from being royal? Can H&M take freebies now, or again, if they retain titles, is that not allowed?

    They should be able to live and work and do what they want. My only question is how that part above will work.

  52. EUR says:

    Since the beginning, before all this mess, I have believed that Harry and Maghan will get divorced within 10 years.

  53. kessa says:

    I’m surprised you guys didn’t cover Meghan’s deal with Disney for a voiceover that was announced this weekend. Would love to hear your collective perspective.

    • DM2 says:

      I’m here for the elephants, so it’s all good 🙂

    • Devon says:

      All the money is going to charity. But there are some Cambridge fans who are sure bent out of shape about it.

      • kessa says:

        That doesn’t surprise me – I try not to read comments anywhere else because fo the sussex hate. Just saw a headline randomly yesterday evening and was expecting it to be covered here.

      • Royalwatcher says:

        Devon – Meghan could simultaneously cure cancer, single handedly put out all of the fires in Australia, and pilot a rocketship to Mars and they would STILL get bent out of shape and find something to complain about. They’re cray-cray.

      • kerwood says:

        @Devon, the Cambridge fans are upset because their girl can’t put two coherent sentences together and speaks in a barely comprehensible ‘posh’ accent. No voice-overs for Keen Katie.

    • Peg says:

      Oops, guess you miss the part where it is going to a charity supporting elephants, next.

    • Olenna says:

      You mean the deal for Disney to donate her earnings to Elephants Without Borders? Sad that some only get ‘informed’ via tabloids.

      • kessa says:

        Ugh OK this site is getting annoying with attacking people for a very neutral comment. Your perspective comes loaded. Nothing is sad. I just assumed everything harry/meghan is covered here. Is celebitchy the New York times? Really?

      • Olenna says:

        @kessa, please don’t come at me half-cocked (i.e., “attacking’). The full news story is out there about this so-called deal. That the tabloids deliberately left out the part about the donation to charity and some people can’t be bothered to read further than a headline or SM comment is sad, IMO, and just further supports the reason why the Sussexes said no more to the royal rota. RRs count on this behavior to draw clicks and comments for profit and to support their negative agenda against the DoS.

    • AMM says:

      People got defensive because you left out a major part of that deal. Intentionally or not, you wrote your statement the same way the biased British press did.

    • Lady D says:

      I think it’s a brilliant idea and will only expand their goodwill. I hope to see more of these one off projects in their future.

  54. Oatmeal says:

    TQ or whoever can say what they want , but the lack of any Sussex pictures in the Xmas day photos was an extremely bad look

    • TeamAwesome says:

      I mean, yes, I agree, but also in the speech she had a snippit of video with the Sussex family AND the pics of when they met Archie with Doria. That almost feels like more important than who was or wasn’t on the table.

  55. Sofia says:

    Too little too late but at least a statement is here

    Anywho she did refer to them as the Sussexes so even if they lose their HRH, there are probably no plans to remove their dukedoms (at the time the statement was written)

    They’ll probably be allowed to keep their titles and basically be left alone by the RF as long as they agree not to do any interviews and not to capitalise on their titles aka Fergie’s juicers

    • olive says:

      she can’t take away harry’s HRH anyway, he is a born prince. also, even the queen’s uncle got to keep his HRH and was given a dukedom after he abdicated the throne! i think the titles are secure.

  56. Tashiro says:

    What a weekend LOL. Glad things have calmed down within the family anyway. Everybody will deal with it and sort things out. I’m sure the tabloid press will still be foaming at the mouth for some time to come. I find it hard to believe that Charles will not want his sons and their families around him when he’s king. When that time comes I think H&M will spend more time in the UK, I hope so. Regardless of what’s being said I’m sure he loves his sons. They are dysfunctional and a mess but it’s still a family.

  57. Busyann says:

    Serious question, does this mean Will and Kate will try to justify working less? They only stepped it up after Meghan showed up and now that they are gone, I see this going either way.

    • Liz version 700 says:

      Busyann they should be working more since they are the Heirs and only heirs are important. But this is Will and Kate we are talking about of course they will try to work less. Kate will probably count the school run as an official appearance. It is obvious that her family and she were behind a lot of this, but I hope she is ok. The emotional abuse her husband deals out towards his brother makes me wonder what being his wife is like. Even though she wanted this, not sure she realized how much fun this would be.

    • Elisa says:

      @BusyAnn: the same thought has crossed my mind as well – what if W&K want the same deal as H&M? IMO this can give them more leverage over TQ and Charles.

  58. Flying fish says:

    More work for Willy and Kate.

    Kate is stepping it up with her school runs!

    I know a lot of women who drop their kids off at school and then go to work!

    • Ina says:

      Are gym workouts for William with the school mums count as work in the future? After all there’s “work” in workout.

    • iamcait says:

      Only in her case work is heading to the gym to meet with her trainer, followed by some self-care (hair, nails) and lunch with mum.

    • Digital Unicorn says:

      Its only a matter of time before the school runs make it into the Court Circular to bump those pitiful numbers up.

  59. S808 says:

    Okay my final comment: I think H&M will keep the press fed for a minute or two but phew. good luck to Will and Kate with the tabs.

  60. SpilldatT says:

    The only thing I care about is that I do not want a single cent of Canadian taxpayer’s money to go towards their security details.

    Between his own inheritance & the money from Charles, they can pay for their own team.

    While I know the 1% always gets away with special treatment, I don’t think ordinary Canadian citizens should have to shoulder the burden of protecting wealthy people, no matter who they are. I’d say the same for Wills, Kate etc.

    None of them represent or work for our country, so they can pay for their own living expenses.

    I hope the BRF will be a thing of the past as soon as QEII dies, and that Pedo Andy rots in jail. The latter will not happen, sadly.

    • Lurker says:

      I’m skeptical Canadians will pay will pay a single Looney (that’s the name of your currency, right?). I think they will keep their current Metro security for the moment. The Duchy of Cornwall will be footing the bill once all the paperwork is signed and they’ll eventually transition away from using Papa’s money within 2 years. I’m all but certain Megan and Harry will be billionaires by 2025 but that means working fast and getting deals signed quickly.

      • iamcait says:

        The looney is the name of our currency??! What? Where do you live – a remote island in the middle of the Pacific? No access to news, books and other sources of information?

      • Sam Louise says:

        Our $1.00 coin is affectionately called the Looney (and $2.00 coin as Twooney) but no that is not the official name. LOL. Our currency system is called the Canadian Dollar.

      • carmen says:

        Lol Sam Louise – can’t believe you have to tell someone that.

      • Lurker says:

        Have most of you have seen Trainspotting? That’s where I grew up. That’s how I grew up too ,when I’m honest. Be grateful I even know how to write in English.

        You can thank Tories giving our money to the useless bags of c*m in Buckingham that my Canadian knowledge isn’t great. That money should be kept in Scotland for Scottish schools. I’ve never seen a Canadian dollar coin. I just looked it up though on google so joke’s on me for not realizing why it may be called a “Looney.”

      • Jaded says:

        The “looney” is our one-dollar coin. The “twooney” is our two-dollar coin. It was named the looney because our lakes are famous for the number of loons that spend summers here and is shown on the coin. Our currency is the Canadian dollar. There, your monetary lesson for the day.

      • Maria says:

        It was a reasonable question.

      • Lady D says:

        More than reasonable. I certainly can’t name or recognize all the monies in the world, who could?

      • DM2 says:

        Aww, @ Lurker, na bi dragh ort! The loonie is just our colloquialism for the $1 coin ’cause of the loon (our haunting lake bird) on it — and the twoonie, well, ’cause it’s a $2 coin…weird words abound!

      • kerwood says:

        @Lurker, don’t worry about not knowing what our nickname for the dollar coin is. Some Canadians(?) don’t seem to know that Prime Minister Trudeau is too busy dealing with the murder of 57 Canadians to offer a single LOONIE to the Sussex’ security.

      • jwoolman says:

        The only reason I knew about Canadian currency is because as a kid I lived in the US state of Michigan (borders on Canada) and we sometimes got Canadian coins in change from merchants. Pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. We liked them, they were different. I don’t recall learning about other currencies in school at all. We had casual coin collectors in the family, so I learned about them that way.

        I learned about exchange rates only as an adult when negotiating with foreign clients. The US dollar began flopping around so much at one point that I think its value went below or nearly below the value of the Canadian dollar, but usually Canadian dollar prices are more than the equivalent in US dollars. Haven’t followed it closely in a while since at some point I gave up and insisted on billing and getting paid in US dollars for everybody. Let their bankers worry about doing the conversion. I do not understand money and how its value is supposed to change across borders. My bills come due in US dollars and our bankers charge arms and legs to convert anything else at my end because my country is primitive when it comes to international transactions. Besides, my own currency is the only steady one for me. When it fluctuates downward compared to the client’s currency, of course, that makes my rates more attractive to others and the opposite occurs when it fluctuates upward.

        I learned much later that loonie (or looney) was a nickname for a Canadian dollar coin and why, probably on the Internet, so I’m not sure why everybody jumped on the original poster since it wasn’t incorrect. Not the official basis for the currency, but real. Like the US dollar is also called a buck, I guess. There are loads of unofficial names for currency in the US and the UK at least. I can’t even spell all the ones I’ve heard on tv and the movies.

    • mj says:

      I’d much rather the monarchy is dissolved soon so all this nonsense goes away. No princes, no dukes, none of this hoopla over what is basically a family feud.

  61. EB says:

    Look up Quoil Limited on Companies House. Looks like they put their exit plan into motion before any of this was announced today.

    • AMM says:

      Yes, that’s been made clear. The tabloids initially painted it was Harry and Meghan dropping the news without family knowledge, but then were forced to admit that the family was aware of plans and even told them to come up with a solid outline and present it to them. The only last minute thing was announcing it early, since the Sun got a leak. This has been in the works for a while now.

    • Whatnow says:

      In reply to #60 @EB:

      Quoil Limited on Companies House APP is not available in my country.

      Can you please tell us what you saw when you looked it up?

  62. MasonMillet says:

    The irony is that the tabloid media who claim to be pro-monarchy has damaged the crown more than anyone else, besides Andy. For the last 3 years the tabloids has lead a media lynching of Meghan for the world to see. They, in conjunction with palace courtiers leaking lies, instigating a vendetta against Meghan for their own personal reasons. Spurred on by P. Morgan, a married man far too fixated and obsessed with another man’s wife. With Prince William you have tradition that will carry on into the next generation. With Harry you had the rebel prince. Carrying out his duties to his gran even though he expressed a yearning to do other non royal things with his life long before he married Meghan. He served ten years in the military, traveled the world representing his family, doing what was expected of him. That should have been enough. Two princes with very different personalities working toward one goal… to serve the queen. And each in their own way did just that. But the tabloids wanted to destroy Meghan by pitting the Sussexes against the Cambridges because in their eyes, Meghan wasn’t good enough. Not humble, meek, and ingratiating enough to appreciate her new status in life. But she did appreciate it. In three years she worked hard doing everything expected of her, except giving the tabloids complete 24 hour access. And for that she was punished. The Sussexes brought a new, energetic, 21st century vibrancy to an institution that many believed had long out-lived its purpose. Igniting a new interest in the RF amongst younger people and commonwealth nations, thinking the RF had become representative, progressive. Ensuring interest for many decades to come. Of course, the monarchy will go on in its staid quiet traditional way. Nothing has changed though it feels like something has. Insular, uninterested in peoples outside one’s own experience. Withdrawing itself up in the past and wanting everything to go back to the way it was. And that is sad because change comes to all things in life. It is the most natural thing in the world to change and adapt to new circumstances. And that is something the tabloids and the palace spies ( with an axe to grind) failed to grasp in this situation.

    • Thinking says:

      OMG. This is an awesome take and well presented and written. Seriously you are a wordsmith !!! I need you to rerpesent me in my child custody case…..” she was an impassioned woman who gave everything up to raise her children and now she is being cast aside so the father can dash off to Europe to marry some idiot fruitcake….etc, etc….”. My lawyer could read ur impassioned plea…..I need your mode of expression. You have me cheering wildy for these people and I dont even know them !!!
      …….

    • Agreed. And, what doesn’t bend, can break.

    • kerwood says:

      @MasonMilet, very, VERY well said.

      This is a tragedy for the royal family, whether they and the tabloids realize it. I remember Harry and Meghan’s wedding day. It seemed that the royal family was finally entering the 21st century. It was beautiful and very moving. And they completely and totally blew it.

      Harry and Meghan will ALWAYS be the superstars of the family, at least until the next generation is old enough to step forward (I have big hopes for Ms. Charlotte). William and Kate are sad cases; lazy, boring and stuck in the past because they think it benefits them.

      I’m proud of Harry and Meghan. They weren’t bluffing. They MEANT what they said. They’re going to build their own lives, in their own way and the rest of the family can sink into the irrelevancy they so richly deserve,

  63. MasonMillet says:

    The tabloids wanted to break away from the rest f Europe.
    The tabloids wanted Meghan to break away form the royal family.
    They got what they wished for didn’t they?

  64. Estelle says:

    The Queen didn’t want to appear distant with formal titles – using their christian names is imo meant to convey family.

    If they continue royal duties they’d need to retain the title – I’m sure Meghan couldn’t care less about that, Harry might but maybe not as well.

    • Lurker says:

      As an aside, the Queen would also be forced to have Andy the Paedo relinquish his title if she made the Sussexes relinquish theirs. It makes no sense for her to do that.

    • The royal correspondent for The Times, just stated that he felt the Queen’s statement was heartfelt and personal in a way that is very rare for her.

  65. THEREALME says:

    Well I think this is working out quite well for everyone. Harry and Meg can live in Canada and by following their wishes the monarchy can be streamlined. So everyone won I guess. Here comes the new modern monarchy. It will work out well for Charlotte as well because I can see that girl going Hollywood!!! I personally think that Harry is angry right now and in a fighting mode but will become extremely homesick. I mean I am Canadian and love it hear but it’s not London or the UK for sure – no comparison. As well he is leaving family and lifelong friends behind. But I guess really who needs those people with the Obamas and Beyoncé in the wings!!
    I agree with the above posters we cannot afford to support them in any way. The million or more to “protect” them could go for new hospital equipment or help with the many refugees we have from Syria. That money would go a long way and help a lot of people.

    • Lurker says:

      Oh please. Harry’s family will be right there. It benefits everyone that they spin this positively and broken relationships are repaired. I genuinely believe that this move will go a long way in repairing Wills and Harry’s relationship.

      In an effort to avoid work, you will start hearing Richard Kay go on about how Wills, Kate and family are spending an “extended” vacation at The Sussexes’ new home. Charles will buy that home they’re staying at on Vancouver Island and the one on each side of it. Everyone will be happy “the boys” patched things up, interviews will be had, the brothers will be jovial. They’ll blame the media, saying there was tension due to their royal roles but look here, being brothers comes first! Cue the excessively long Cambridge summer vacations on Vacouver Island with Instagram photos of the boys with wives and kids along with The POW and the Duchess of Cornwall having a lovely outdoor picnic. Harry makes billions and buys The Sun and Daily Mail. The end.

      • Jaded says:

        That home they stayed at on Vancouver Island is NOT for sale. I know, I live here. BC has VERY strict laws on foreigners buying property and just because he’s Prince Charles doesn’t mean he can swan in and buy up 3 properties that are NOT for sale. The Cambridges have no reason to spend time here other than a brief whistle stop to cut ribbons and chuck babies under the chin. They are and will remain estranged except for the few royal occasions at which M&H are obligated to attend.

      • Lurker says:

        Jaded: Charles and Elizabeth won’t allow it. Also, if Meghan is a permanent resident of Canada, I’m sure they can buy a house. I’m told becoming a Canadian permanent resident isn’t difficult. Harry and William may not actually ever personally reconcile I think they can stomach each other enough to do what Papa and Grandmama want and put on a show. Lilibet wouldn’t have that statement full of fuzzies if there wasn’t a massive PR spin coming to show that the brothers are fine. It benefits everyone involved, even Harry and Meghan, to put those rumors to rest.

    • THEREALME says:

      I don’t know if Meghan ever was a permanent resident or here on a work visa? Not quite sure about that. We have a lot of movies/tv shows made in Canada I am not sure how they work but I don’t think they all become permanent residents. And as to it is easy to get into Canada? I do know about that – we do take a fair number of both refugees and immigrants but I don’t know if I would classify it as easy. I hope that the rest of the world does not think that Canada is here to be taken for granted and the 1% can come here to our resources and get out of paying taxes. We did have many wealthy buy up housing in BC and it has made it very difficult to live here due to the cost of housing. The government has started to tax for this and the atmosphere here is Canada is a bit angry right now at wealthy people coming to this country and creating housing problems by pushing up the prices. If Harry and Meghan continue to receive the money from Charles they should be made to pay Canadian taxes on that for the costs for their medical (no private here so they will be using public funded hospitals for their care), as well as the roads we all use, the school that Archie will attend, etc. As well I would expect quite large donations to different Canadian charities once they are well established. People who come to Canada in the 1% should help the country out.

    • jwoolman says:

      They can video chat with friends everywhere in the world today. It’s a different ball game thanks to the technology.

      If Harry could spend years in the military, he must not be all that prone to homesickness. Hopefully he will have more chances to truly get out and about in Canada. It’s not as though he is going to live in a cave. Canada has cities and indoor plumbing, you know, in addition to lots of beautiful scenery.

  66. leigh says:

    I saw that Harry arrived earlier at Sandringham for lunch with the Queen, without Charles and Will and before the summit. Perhaps they sat down for a cozy lunch and some gin and tonics and the Queen admitted to Harry that he was always her favorite and of course he can live wherever he wants. Then Harry apologized for having a temper and dropping the announcement before she wanted, wherein she said “You’re just like Philip with that temper” and they hugged it out. Then the Queen showed Harry the written statement that she had ready and they changed a few words here or there and settled the matter quickly. After another drink the Queen confessed that she thinks Will is a pill and she’s glad she won’t be around for his reign and then they looked at photos of Archie on Harry’s iphone and then she went to take a nap and said ring me when it’s all over.

    • Liz version 700 says:

      Leigh that is a lovely image.

    • Lurker says:

      Lmao! I really hope that this is true and if it is, there’s likely a story of her rolling her eyes when Charles’ name comes up.

    • KC says:

      I love this!

      • Feeshalori says:

        Now I want a scenario where she rips William to shreds over his gaslighting and unsupportive behavior to Harry and Meghan. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for that!

    • paddingtonjr says:

      Yes! This is totally how it happened and I won’t hear anything different. I do think Liz sometimes struggles with her role as monarch v Mum/Granny. When Diana died, I think she tried to react as a grandmother would, protecting her grandchildren and wanting to keep them out of the public glare for a while, but this was seen as not being there for her subjects (although there may be some truth to that as well). So, I think she wanted to emphasize that the BRF is family as a well as the Firm and, when all is said and done, Harry is her grandson and Meghan is her granddaughter-in-law, even if she hasn’t publicly supported them as she should. I do hope she and Harry were able to talk without the interference of the courtiers and Charles/William, just grandmother to grandson.

    • A Guest says:

      I believe the Queen loves Prince Harry dearly. He reminds her of Prince Phillip when he was younger and of Princess Margaret. There have been too many pictures of genuine affection between them over the years.

      What surprises me the most is Prince Charles. He got such positive press during the wedding for giving Meghan away and very kind to her mother. Yet, it was his biographer who started the whole fandango with the tiara story. He tried to get the family together last Christmas but then he either gave up or gave in to his own insecurities.

      This all could have been handled so differently.

    • Modiglia says:

      Creepy AF.

    • Maria says:

      Would make sense except for her skipping Archie’s christening. I really think she does not care that much about Harry.

      • Peg says:

        Meghan had friends from the US over it was around July 4th, and Meghan did not want to postpone the christening, because Americans do not get as much vacations days as the rest of the World.
        The Queen had engagements in Scotland, so I don’t think it that big of a deal.

      • Maria says:

        I don’t buy this excuse and never have. If it was important to her, she would have shown up. It was at the tail end of Holyrood week and could have been managed.

        I’m frankly sick of the excuses being made for this woman. She puts out one statement and all of a sudden we just want to sweep what she’s done under the rug?

    • fluffybunny says:

      You paint a lovely picture.

    • Joanna says:

      Lol 🤣

    • sami-pup says:

      Yes this! This is how Sussexodus could have happened! This is the best comment and I choose to imagine and believe this scenario. ( Am also hopeless optimist and idealist).

    • kerwood says:

      @leigh, I don’t know if it happened like this but I hope that Harry was able to sit down with the Queen and let her know how much she hurt him and his family. I also believe that the Queen loves Harry and I think she likes Meghan. But she failed miserably in doing her job as the head of her family.

      The Queen spent way too much time covering for her rapist son and appeasing a grandson who isn’t worth it. She seems to think that William is the future of the royal family and she’s dead wrong. Harry and Meghan were the future of the royal family and if she had supported them, they could have dragged the rest of the family along with them. Instead, they’re leaving and she’s stuck with Charles, who seems to be doing his best to push her aside, and Normal Bill and Keen Katie, two bone-idle do-nothings who want the perks but don’t want to do any of the work.

      The Queen failed the BEST of her family. I hope she realizes it now.

    • Fallon says:

      I absolutely adore this!

    • Maria says:

      Honestly, this little daydream is only cute on the surface — it still completely writes Meghan and what has been done to her out of the narrative.

  67. Bookworm says:

    Meghan won’t become a British citizen now though, right? So can a non-British citizen even hold a British Royal title?

    • Lurker says:

      Wallis was Duchess of Windsor but not HRH. I think Meghan will be asked to give up her HRH and this may be cited as one of the reasons.

    • Jaded says:

      We don’t know that, she may continue with the residency requirements to obtain her British citizenship while still living a part-time life in Canada.

    • notasugarhere says:

      She’s currently a non-British citizen and has a title, so yes, a non-Brit can seemingly have a title.

    • Ennie says:

      I present you Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

      • Lurker says:

        Philip’s mother was born at Windsor Castle and was royalty. He was a prince of Greece and Denmark. He abdicated to marry Elizabeth but he was a prince. Meghan isn’t royalty and she has no claim to British citizenship except by marriage to Harry and his citizenship is getting worked out as we speak.

      • Ennie says:

        Still a foreigner that had to be stripped of any claim fo his foreign heritage to be accepted. That they are inbred, is a different thing.

      • notasugarhere says:

        He didn’t abdicate. Only a monarch can abdicate. He willingly gave up his place in the line of succession to the UK throne. Very different things. The Netherlands, Swedish, and some other royals are in line to the UK throne too. All those intermarriages.

  68. Jana says:

    What I took away from the speed in which the Queen agreed to let them leave their royal duties is that Meghan and Harry have some SERIOUS dirt on that dysfunctional fucking family.

    • notasugarhere says:

      The statement doesn’t say they’re leaving their royal duties. We don’t know what the final plan will be, but the proposed plan is they will be minor royals, doing work for the Crown when requested, but spending their personal time doing their own charity work and living where they want.

    • PrincessK says:

      I think that they will gradually relinquish all royal duties because l doubt if Meghan will want to live part of the year in the U.K. l am also sure that she will not give birth to another child in the U.K. Also the children will most likely be educated in Canada.

  69. Anna says:

    So confused…Isn’t this what’s best for everyone–Harry, Meghan, the Royal Family, and the paying public? Isn’t it in everyone’s best interest for them to live more happily and out of attack away from UK and to be self-sufficient? Especially in a day and age where environmental and social concerns and shifting notions of government and rule mean that royal families days are numbered? I mean, maybe Britain with its history of imperialism will be the last monarchy standing but H & M are only reflecting the times and doing what the monarchy itself wants which is to lessen dependence on public funds. Why is this such a big deal? It seems like the monarchy and the press are making a much bigger deal out of this than it should be. How about: good on ya, H & M, for doing the responsible thing, for lessening the tax burden to the commoners, and for forging a socially conscious future for themselves and their family?

  70. Myra says:

    The entire world is giving the Brits the side-eye. Now they will look to Kate. Seriously she may have a nervous breakdown. Since Meghan joined the RF they have made her into the perfect Royal that does NO wrong. Now she has to step into that unrealistic role. The question is can she handle the pressure and fill the void. I expect the media will be all aglow on Wednesday for her Royal outing. They have to prove to the Brits that Kate was worth the Sussex’s stepping down. The Brits will be happy for the moment (stiff upper lip and all) meanwhile The World will take a collective YAWN, (nothing to see here)

    • Feeshalori says:

      Kate will now be standing on a very shaky pedestal that she’s in danger of falling off from according to the whims and vagaries of the press and public. The higher up you are, the farther you fall. She will be under a lot of pressure to perform and I don’t envy her at all.

    • Jaded says:

      She’ll just keep on doing what she’s been doing – live in William’s shadow, take on the least amount of work possible and only give it lip service, and mostly be a rich Norfolk toff wife and mother.

    • Bee says:

      With Meghan and Harry living what they have proven over the past six weeks to be a private life should they choose, the British press will start ripping shreds off William and Kate again. They’ll literally have nothing else to do.

    • kerwood says:

      Kate is in the best and worst position of anybody. She’s got a certain amount of power because William’s going to need her to play along and pretend that they are a happy family, ready to take up the slack and ‘hit the ground running’. But she’s also in a weak position because William’s favourite whipping boy just tapped out and took her husband and baby with her. Who is William going to throw under the bus when he has to cover up the movements of his wandering scepter? Nobody in the family is going to take his shit now, so the only person he has to take out his hostility is Keen Katie. I hope the tiaras are worth it.

      • notasugarhere says:

        The pap stroll with Rose and Rocksavage showed the Queen will smooth over any future affairs, with Kate trotting meekly in line.

    • jwoolman says:

      I know everybody loves to dump on Kate, but I think she is in a miserable position. She seems to be an introvert stuck trying to imitate an extrovert and failing at that. She is not good at public appearances and it’s not a matter of training needed.

      They should just accept that, let her be a normal rich private wife and mother, and stop sneering at her for not doing the “royal job” that she is completely unsuited for. William is the born royal, not her. He has been preparing for it all his life and if he didn’t want to do it, there are ways out and he knows it. I’m tired of the idea that the wife is supposed to be a twofer in politics and royalty. Kate has already done enough “royal duty” of producing the required heir and a spare. Two spares, actually.

      If you want to blame anybody, blame William because he knew her, knew what she would face as his wife and how much it went against her very nature, and went ahead and married her anyway without any thought of protecting her. I doubt she gets emotional support from him now.

      I have no idea what originally attracted Kate to this royal twit, but she seems easily dominated by her mother who was likely pushing her onward to marry the heir to the throne despite obvious warning signs in their on again-off again relationship. A decent mother would have pointed out the red flags rather than encouraging her to ignore them, and busied herself setting up dates with nicer young men. It’s not as though Kate would have languished alone if she didn’t pursue William.

      • Rose says:

        I agree with all this plus also wouldn’t be surprised if she greatly struggled with depression/anxiety, especially if she had a narcissistic mom in the picture since day one.

        I know the majority of people here don’t like her, and I get it, but I can’t help but feel a bit of empathy for her bc it’s obvious by now she’s introvert to the extreme and way out of her depth. If I was I her shoes I’d be doing the same thing and everyone would be dragging me too.

      • notasugarhere says:

        Not this tripe again. There are 3000 people in the known line of succession. William was never required to marry and produce children. Thrones go sideways peacefully all the time, see the UK and Belgium as recent examples.

        Kate is not an introvert, her decade of partying and bikini pap shots show that. Her hanging her bare bum out the window at boys so much she was named Kate MiddleBUM shows she’s not an introvert.

        She has no trouble showing up and enjoying engagements with Sir Ben, or when all she has to do is wear an expensive dress. It is when she has to pretend to care that she fails. As per her cousin the professor, Kate does not care about the world around her.

        I’ll bet Mathilde, Daniel, and Mary are all natural introverts too. Yet they manage to raise happy children, show up, give speeches, and do their jobs professionally.

        This is what Kate chased for a decade. She signed up to be a working royal. She doesn’t get to sit on her bum with her 50 room palace and three nannies paid by taxpayers and decide, ‘I’d really rather shop than work an hour a week for charity’.

  71. Well-Wisher says:

    Imagine if Prince Harry was allowed to see his grandmother before the Wooten article in the Sun, this statement would’ve been the likely outcome without the publicity.

    I hope all parties are at least satisfied with the results.

  72. Birds eye view says:

    I think its obvious to anyone that Harry wanted out of his role years ago…pre Meghan…she gave him a new possibility ..
    a life in Canada with their son. That’ll be why they took th six week ‘holiday’…that was their escape route. ok so Harry had to come home to face th music…but he’ll sort it out and get what he wants. I hope they keep up their charity work but after the dust settles theyll have a happier life in the long run xx

  73. L4frimaire says:

    I’m curious to how that came about but don’t want anymore leaks, especially from KP. I wonder if they’ll keep the title but be restricted to use them only on official royal duties, and have to rebrand for any commercial purposes. Like Princess Martha Louise of Norway. She can’t use her title for her shaman work with her boyfriend, but for state functions it’s in effect. This will be a transition but for them to get some of what they want, will be concessions. That joint statement with William was one of those. Also, Meghan can just use her name Meghan Markle for commercial branding, if that’s what she wants. The press always stressed her civilian name more than her titled name, so everyone knows it.

  74. sassafras says:

    I think they’re all realizing that this is fine and manageable. I still say that H&M will keep their HRH and be given jobs from time to time representing the crown in the Commonwealth. Charles will need both Harry and Wills when he steps up because G,C and L are no where near “full timer” status for many years. Charles (perhaps because of Camilla’s influence) will want to keep a good relationship with Harry & Archie. If anyone is brokering peace here, I still feel it’s Charles. He’s had his share of issues with the Crown and is looking at a near-imminent change in job title. They all want as much stability and good PR as possible.

    Question for the BRF experts. When Wills becomes Prince of Wales, does that have any effect on Andrew or Edward or Harry? Or do they all keep their titles? I know that there’s some speculation that Edward would be given Edinburgh on Phillip’s death but at this point, would Charles do so?

  75. fluffybunny says:

    Anybody else got the lyrics to Hamilton running through their mind right now? Raise a glass to freedom. Something they can never take away.

    • Circe says:

      I have “You’ll be back, soon you’ll see, you’ll remember you belong to me….” Literally written for this family

      • fluffybunny says:

        Oceans rise and Empires fall. Lin-Manuel Miranda is a fucking national treasure and he should be reaching out to see if Meghan sings because I would pay thousands to see her be Eliza. Not that I don’t already pay serious money to see whoever is touring.

      • Silas says:

        Harry started singing that when he and Meghan were with the cast!

      • morrigan01 says:

        I saw a post on twitter that some Royal Commentator named Max (Foster?) posted of him lip syncing that song on TikTock and dedicating it to Harry and Meghan.

        Thing about the “You’ll Be Back” song is, of course, that the American Colonies never did come back. That’s the joke. So like, everyone was clowning him for kinda missing the point of that song if he was trying to joke that H&M would leave and then come back.

      • PrincessK says:

        No, he must be making fun of the royal family, because Harry and Meghan won’t be back.

  76. Mary says:

    Okay, now the Daily Mail has an article indicating that inside sources have said that the conference call with Megan was barred because they were concerned about privacy issues. For example,who else may be listening on the line or at Meghan’s end.

    Am I the only one that thinks it is absolutely crazy as f*** that a LEAKING source has the audacity to justify Meghan’s being barred from participating in the meeting by citing PRIVACY reasons?

    • Lurker says:

      I imagine Meghan may have been dropped when the conversation between The Queen, POW, William and Harry began as that involved boring logistics and fights she didn’t need to stress about. I would think that QE spoke to her during her lunch with Harry and got her side of the story. I imagine it was something like “I can’t do this and am overwhelmed by all of this.”

    • Sunshine says:

      Mary – It’s the Daily Mail…..

  77. Chanterei says:

    I don’ understand what is the problem. The succession line is secured – Charles, William, George. Harry is important now as future king’s son. How important would he be as king’s brother? How important Archie will be as king’s cousin? Not at all. What are the chances Harry will become a king? Not that good. I agree with Harry and Meghan’s decision to create life for themselves and their family. Wait for Charlotte realizing in 20 years that she will never be the queen, therefore wanting her own life journey.

  78. eboni says:

    Meghan doesn’t need the titles.She is the most famous woman in the world and she is also beautiful classy and smart . High end brands will pay anything for the connection. High end cars ,jewelry cosmetics, shoes, clothes .She has the potential to make hundreds of millions! I am really curious to see what direction she will take .Certainly better than sitting around, in a house that belongs to your husbands grandmother , waiting get a hand out from your father in-law every year!

    • Bookworm says:

      Then why didn’t she do all that on her own without the encumbrance of marrying into the royal family?

      • Sass says:

        @bookworm…because she loves her husband? I don’t know, just a wild guess

      • GuestWho says:

        Because the man she fell in love with happened to be a prince.

      • fatladysinging says:

        So, she was supposed to not marry the person she fell in love with and wanted to build a life with?

      • Bookworm says:

        No, I’m saying she wasn’t already doing those things before Harry, when you’re saying she could.

      • notasugarhere says:

        No, you’re once again taking the tumblr tack of saying she should put up with abuse, or not have married the love of her life.

  79. Ann says:

    I have two daughters and one refrigerator. When my mom visited, she looked at the stuff on my refrigerator and commented, “You really should balance out the number of photos of each daughter.” I was stunned and appreciated that she pointed it out, I was clueless. My mom is smarter than the Queen in that respect. She could have had other small photos on the desk of the “Senior Royals.”

  80. Bee says:

    I suspect this was probably Meghan’s plan all along. The press and her toxic family certainly helped her cause.

    • Mary says:

      Troll.

    • RoyalBlue says:

      @BEE. Who on earth would think this:
      Her plan was to be insulted in the news in multiple articles a day. Her plan was to have lies told about her. Her plan was to be ignored by the blood and other married in royals. Her plan was to sue the media, Her plan was to have her son mocked and grow up distant from his cousins. Her plan was to never have a happy family gathering. Her plan was to see anguish in her husband, her number one supporter and encourage him to have these talks to move away from a toxic environment.

      Why would this possibly have been her plan. They are going to get their happy ever after but this I am sure is not the ending she imagined when they started dating.

      You are a troll.

    • Olenna says:

      That glass slipper was never gonna fit you, @Bee.

  81. GuestOne says:

    It’s hilarious- USA today had article that the Sun’s leak was because of the writers relationship with the Duchess of Cambridge’s PR’ Christian Jones (lol throwing Kate under the bus) and now the sun reporter is throwing Charles under the bus saying that the Sussexes feel that Clarence House was leaking diva stories about them& it has caused a strain. Why do I feel it’s about to get game of thrones style between Clarence House & KP?

    One tabloid is also running a story about Charles friendship with that paedophile priest. You can kind of see why it was helpful for Meghan to absorb all the negative press lol

  82. aquarius64 says:

    I’m glad this is settled for now. The queen put the tone of family because was getting beat up for not supporting Meghan and Harry. William looked like an ass (still does). The king in waiting was not looking ready for prime time here. British media getting dragged by the American press. Anone that should be scared right now are the Markles . It will be a matter of time before the guns are turned on them. The US press will be more through in vetting these clowns to show they concluded with the tabloids and debunking their lies.

  83. dynastysurf says:

    .

  84. Zoe says:

    This is a really stupid question but I was wondering if the Sussexes no longer wanted to be full-time royals going forward, why did they specify that they would continue on as part-time royals in their initial statement? Was it an early negotiation tactic? Sorry for such a basic question.

    • Amy Too says:

      Because that’s what they wanted. They didn’t want to be senior, full time, working royals. If you’re a full time senior royal you get paid from the sovereign grant to do royal work full time as your one and only job, and there are restrictions on what work you can do, where you can live, and you have to work with a certain set of press: the very press that Harry and Meghan are currently suing because they constantly lie about them to smear them. They wanted to be part time working royals like other members of the family, because if they’re not accepting the sovereign grant, they can live part time in Canada, they’re not restricted to full tie royal family work being their one and only job, and they can work with whatever media they want or no media at all if they so choose. So they asked for what they wanted and they got it.

      Maybe you’re confused because the press has been painting this as Harry and Meghan wanting to quit 100%, leave England forever, and never see any of the BRF again. But that’s not true. They always said they wanted to step back from being senior royals but still do royal work, support their royal patronages, and even go on royal tours.

      • Joanna says:

        @Amy, thanks for explaining that. Being American, idk that much about how it works. I wasn’t sure what being a part time royal meant compared to a full time one. Thanks for cluing us in 😘

      • Zoe says:

        Thanks so much for taking the time to explain this to me, Amy Too. I was confused by the Queen’s statement mentioning that the Sussexes wouldn’t be funded by public funds (at all). I thought that if no funding is needed then it implied that they are “100% out of the royal family” vs. a part-time royal. And like Joanna, I was confused about the difference between being a full-time and part-time royal.

        Thank you again for the explanation 😀

    • GuestWho says:

      I think that Harry truly feels he has a duty to the monarchy, but the price was too high when it started involving his wife and son. Had they gotten even a little support from the family, they may well have stayed. This couldn’t have been an easy decision. He was convinced to stay by the queen years ago when he wanted to leave, but now he has something deeper to honor.

      • Ina says:

        I had no idea he wanted to leave years ago and was asked to stay. How long ago was this and why did he want to leave?

  85. carmen says:

    I hope once they are settled here, they can enjoy life again and put all of the negativity, cruelty & bullying Meghan experienced from the British press behind them. Who will the Fail pick on now? Note to the Fail and other tabloids – you are not welcome in Canada so don’t even think of setting up a satellite office over here. Am I naive?

  86. ninjacat says:

    Interesting the capitalization of “Members”…of the Royal Family. Very impressed with this statement by TQ. Best outcome for all at this time, which will continue to evolve, of course. My goodness, owning a small shoe repair company with family is difficult; now x 1000 to the power of 10. Great work by all parties!! Very glad to see this.

  87. yinyang says:

    Just saw this. Great news and great move on H&M’s part, unlike the rest of the family they have morals. Very happy, but I am surprised some taxpaying idiots are angry by this. But noticed Queen didnt have one picture of her newest great grandson, not even in the back, what a cold and hardened woman only cares about money and why did she repeat they will only be working parttime, we know W&K are the laziest they are not full time anything.

  88. Kay La says:

    Just because you wish it to be true, doesn’t make it so…

  89. Justin says:

    Life is beautiful. Eveyron on here is a wonderful human being. We all have our issues. Let’s hope this move solves their issues.

  90. sue denim says:

    Does anyone know if it’s true that technically the Queen has custody of all family minors, inc. W&K’s kids, now H&M’s? I wonder if that’s why they left Archie in Canada and Meghan went back asap to be with him? Maybe a tinfoil hat theory, but it’s feeling like a Katie Holmes redux in some ways…w Harry by her side, but still escaping… Anyway, here’s to freedom and wishing them all the best.

  91. MerryGirl says:

    Don’t play chess with Meghan….the Sussexes just checkmated them. They have all the dirt on them and hold all the cards. I for one ain’t falling for this nice soft tone from Queenie, and just look at all of the denials from William, KP and the Courtiers all of a sudden – oh no one is driving them out, they always were a part of the future (yes we see the pics of the heirs only on the Christmas table and the pudding stabbing by George and the main line)….Harry & Meghan are gone from this toxic family and all these sudden retractions and denials of banishing and bullying them are too little, too late.

  92. KellyRyan says:

    The word, “transitional,” is key. I think there is a strong possibility they will leave the monarchy completely in 5-10 years. Harry needs the time to adjust. Meghan is very comfortable in both Canada and the US. Archie is both a UK citizen and a US citizen. Rules, laws for the Monarchy have no teeth in the US. Parents have the first right to raise the child unless there is cause, (harm to the child) for removal. In the US charities can be established with the administrators paid. See US/NOLO/IRS charities. Harry and Meghan may well be established in Canada for the present but they can travel freely between both countries.