LONDON (AP) – Buckingham Palace confirmed on Friday that Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, will not return to royal duties, and Harry will relinquish his honorary titles – a decision that will formally and finally make the couple’s royal family .
When Harry and Meghan stepped down from full-time royal life in March 2020, unhappy about the media control and the limitations of their roles, it was agreed that the situation would be reviewed after a year.
It did so now, and the palace said in a statement that the couple, also known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, had confirmed that they would not return as working members of the royal family. ‘
Queen Elizabeth II is said to have spoken to 36-year-old Harry and confirmed “that it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties associated with a life of public service, if you walk away from the royal family’s work. “
According to the palace, Harry’s appointment as captain general of the Royal Marines and titles at other military groups will return to the queen before being distributed to other members of the family.
Harry served in the British Army for a decade, including on the front lines in Afghanistan, and he maintained close ties with the military. He founded the Invictus Games competition for wounded troops, which was first held in 2014 at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.
He will also have to relinquish positions as patron of the Rugby Football Union, the Rugby Football League and the London Marathon Charitable Trust.
Meghan, 39, will be stripped of her role as patron of British theater and the Association of Commonwealth Universities.
“Although everyone is saddened by their decision, the Duke and Duchess remain many beloved members of the family,” the palace statement read.
American actress Meghan Markle, a former star of the TV legal drama “Suits”, married Queen Harry’s grandson in Windsor Castle in May 2018. Their son, Archie, was born a year later.
In early 2020, Meghan and Harry announced that they were terminating their royal service and moving to North America, citing the intolerable intrusion and racist attitude of the British media towards the Duchess, who identified them as dual.
The couple agreed to no longer use the title ‘royal highness’ or receive public funds for their work, although it was unclear at the time whether the decisions would exist.
They retain their titles of Duke and Duchess, and Harry is still sixth in line to the British throne. Harry and Meghan now live in Santa Barbara, California and are expecting their second child. The couple recently announced they will be speaking to Oprah Winfrey for a TV specialist to be broadcast next month.
They still have a strained relationship with parts of the British media. Earlier this month, Meghan won a legal victory in a lawsuit against the Mail publisher on Sunday, when a British judge ruled that the newspaper had invaded her privacy through part of a letter she had written to her estranged father, to publish.
The news of their break-up with the palace comes when Harry’s grandfather, 99-year-old Prince Philip, is in a London hospital, where he was admitted on Tuesday after feeling unwell.
A spokesman for the couple slammed back after suggestions that Meghan and Harry were not devoted to duty.
“As is evident from their work over the past year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the United Kingdom and around the world and have offered their continued support to the organizations they have represented, regardless of their official role, “the spokesman said in a statement.
“We can all lead a service life. Service is universal. ”