The Queen has announced that she and the royal family will support the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in their move to stand down as ‘senior’ members of the royal family. According to the statement issued by Buckingham Palace, the Queen and the royal family had “very constructive discussions on the future of my grandson and his family”.
The announcement comes following a day of meetings and discussions held at Sandringham. The Queen, Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry were in attendance, while Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, phoned into the talks.
While the Queen has announced her support for the couple to carve out a new path for their young family, there are still a number of matters to be resolved. According to the official statement, the Queen hopes that final decisions will be reached in the coming days, however, she has also highlighted the fact that ‘these are complex matters.’
In addition to the Queen’s official statement, Prince William and Prince Harry have issued a joint statement in an attempt to quell numerous rumours that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were forced out by “bullying” behaviour.
Read the official statement from Buckingham Palace below:
Today my family had very constructive discussions on the future of my grandson and his family.
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.
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.
