The royal palace has been moving at breakneck speed to figure out how to extricate Meghan Markle and Prince Harry from their roles as senior royals. Queen Elizabeth, Prince Harry, Prince Charles and Prince William met in-person on Monday at her Sandringham Estate for the first time since The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made their bombshell announcement last week, and the Queen has issued a rare statement in the wake of the historic news.
“Today my family had very constructive discussions on the future of my grandson and his family,” an official statement on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen read. “My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family. 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.”
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The following portion of the statement addressed Meghan and Harry’s desire to become “financially independent” from the crown. “Harry and Meghan have made clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives. 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.”
“These are complex matters for my family to resolve, and there is some more work to be done, but I have asked for final decisions to be reached in the coming days,” the statement concluded.
The statement put to bed any rumors of unrest between the Queen and her grandson and granddaughter-in-law, but did not offer much insight on a path forward for the young royal couple.
But per the Queen’s wishes, there should be more news about this “period of transition” by the end of the week.
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Prince William and Prince Harry had released a joint statement earlier on Monday that directly addressed a recent report by The Times. The initial report by the UK paper stated that The Duke and Duchess of Sussex decided to step back from their roles in the royal family due to “the ‘bullying’ attitude of his (Harry’s) brother the Duke of Cambridge.”
The statement released unequivocally denied the claims made by The Times. “Despite clear denials, a false story ran in a UK newspaper today speculating about the relationship between The Duke of Sussex and The Duke of Cambridge,” the statement from Buckingham palace read on behalf of both brothers. “For brothers who care so deeply about the issues surrounding mental health, the use of inflammatory language in this way is offensive and potentially harmful.”