The Queen has issued a statement following the royal summit on the future of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, indicating that the troublesome couple are getting their way on their “new life”.
“Today my family had very constructive discussions on the future of my grandson and his family,” the statement begins.
“My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family,” she continued, in reference to the couple’s announcement — reportedly issued without giving the 93-year-old monarch or other senior royals any real notice — that they would be abandoning much of their public duties in order to pursue money-making ventures.
“Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working Members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family,” the Queen said.
“It has therefore been agreed that there will be a period of transition in which the Sussexes will spend time in Canada and the UK.”
Despite referring to the couple as “the Sussexes” in the above quotations, elsehere in the statement she notes that “Harry and Meghan have made clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives” — an omission of their titles as Duke and Duchess of Sussex which some observers believe could be significant.
Even if Harry and Meghan no longer received any money from the Sovereign Grant — public funds for working royals to perform civic functions — they may still continue to receive millions of pounds from Harry’s father Prince Charles from his income as Duke of Cornwall.
It is also in question whether or not taxpayers would continue to fund their secrutiy — a privilege extended to working royals but not those who make their living in the private sector, such as Harry’s cousins Beatrice and Eugenie.