“After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution. We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.
It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment.
We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages.
This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity.
We look forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course, as we continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties. Until then, please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support.”
Their Royal Highnesses, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex
This semi-retirement from royal duties and move to Canada (or perhaps the US) has been viewed differently from different perspectives. From those of us who don’t really care and think that the death of 180 airline passengers, the Australian bushfires and the ongoing troubles in Hong Kong and France are much more newsworthy, to those who are distraught or delighted because they think it is the end of the Monarchy. The Queen herself is, to put it mildly, not pleased!
I was interested to read the Christian reactions published on Christian Today. They seemed to be broadly sympathetic stating that this was a good thing as Harry and Meghan were caring for their own family and mental health. What kind of heartless person must you be to disagree with that?
I would agree with my colleagues if it were not for the statement the couple issued. Note how it is issued in the name of the Duke and Duchess indicating that they want to keep the titles and privileges whilst giving up the job. Combine the statement with their newly launched website – https://sussexroyal.com/ and you get a much clearer picture.
Harry complains about the commoditisation of his wife – and then they both seek to use the brand of the monarchy to promote their own personal interests. If the royal couple were going to do a Wallace Simpson and go into graceful retirement and be a private family then I would be fully supportive. But that is not their proposal – they are going to take all the advantages of the monarchy (lots of travel, opportunity to speak, money) but leave out all the hard stuff (duty, lack of privacy, hard work). As so often Brendan O’Neillexpresses it far better than I can:
What it fundamentally reveals is the incompatibility of the modern culture of narcissism with the values of duty, loyalty and self-negation traditionally associated with royal life. To someone like Meghan, who sprang from celebville, who sees herself as the embodiment of right-on goodness, and who loves nothing more than advertising her eco-virtue and performing her PC credentials, life in the British monarchy was never going to be a good fit.
A Progressive new role: This is a nightmare. What do they mean by progressive? They will offer their names to all the right Woke establishment causes – and they will be suitably lauded for doing so. Western celebs, politicians and business people will love them. They will be the ultimate Woke brand.
Seek to become financially independent: Note the language. ‘Seek to become’. Prince Harry is worth over £40 million. I suspect that meets most people’s qualification for ‘financially independent’! What they are really saying is that they will continue to take money from the British taxpayer, live in their recently refurbished (at a cost of over £2.5 million to the tax payer) palace as a second or third home; and continue to receive taxpayers money (if the Queen lets them) until such time as they get enough media/business contracts that they have sufficient income to live the royal lifestyle. It’s hypocrisy and greed on a grand scale. They want the privileges without the responsibilities.
Geographic balance: What they mean is that they want to commute between two continents and of course travel the world as woke ambassadors. What’s wrong with that? Nothing if it were not for the fact that they are going to adopt as one of their causes climate change and will end up travelling the world first class (or private jet) telling the rest of us that we should not be flying. It reminds me of the time that Harry’s father, Charles told us all that the fight against climate change should come before the fight against poverty.
Honour our Duty to the Queen: This is great Orwellian language. Their website even has the nerve to state that one of their main aims is to ‘serve the monarchy’ – even as they stick the boot into the monarchy. Already republicans like Peter Fitzsimmons here in Australia have been declaring that this brings the end of the monarchy a few steps nearer – and they are right. If the royals decide to use the monarchy as a way to ‘find themselves’, make money and live a royal lifestyle without royal responsibilities, then more and more of us will come to ask – what is the point?
Harry and Meghan haven’t been driven out by racism or prejudice or hatred. Rather, they’re ducking out of their own accord so that they can go even more global, more woke, more famously, internationally, irritatingly PC. They’re going to become even more insufferable. And here’s the thing: they will trade on their still existing royal titles to do so. So Meghan spent a couple of years in the royal family and now is pretty much leaving it while holding on to the duchess / princess thing in order to give her naff feminism and eco-posturing and celeb shoulder-rubbing more oomph? I’ll say it again: abolish the monarchy. Brendan O’Neill
As someone who thinks that we should no longer have a monarchy I find myself in the rather strange position of being very supportive and thankful for the Queen. I fear what will happen to the UK when she goes. Not least because her family are as dysfunctional as any in the Kingdom – they are a right royal mess. Harry and Meghan are symptomatic of much of what is wrong in our culture. I wish them well – but could they just leave the rest of us alone? God save the Queen.
The Wedding, the Sermon and the Reaction – Article on Christian Today
PS. Anyone with an ounce of humanity has to empathise with Harry and Meghan over much of the treatment they get in the press. It is despicable. But they also use the press for their own ends – in some sense, they are a creation of the media and use the media as much as the media use them. The Sussex’s knew exactly what they were doing – they set up a website, gave the Queen two hours notice before releasing their bombshell statement and have skillfully manipulated both national and international media.
None of that negates what is said above.
Also this piece sums it up rather well….
https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2020/01/harry-and-meghan-just-cant-handle-criticism/
But we live in strange times. Today, erstwhile republicans fawn over the royal couple, and those who would once have championed a free press now demand royal coverage is pre-approved and carefully curated by a Duke and Duchess that are beyond reproach.
This narrative has taught Harry it’s acceptable for him to ditch the tiresome commitment he once had to fulfilling his duty, and allows the pair to see stepping back from the responsibilities of public life as an act of bravery. Harry and Meghan want to drop boring duties and avoid pesky royal correspondents, but keep access to Charles’s wallet, inherited wealth and the status of royalty. What they really seem to want is immunity from criticism – and no public figure, no matter their titles or source of income – has a right to that.
Urgently the Government and the trio of Queen, Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge should make a clear distinction between the Monarchy and the redundant “Royal Family”. It is beneficial to have a settled Head of State who is not wafted about by changing political fashions. That’s the monarchy thing. The changing woke and pc fashions are the “Royal Family” soap/unreality show stuff.
I largely agree with all that David, and others, have written on this. However to be kind we must remember that Harry experienced an horrendous traumatic bereavement as a lad. I am a trustee of an organisation that works with traumatic bereavement and I am aware of the huge psychological damage this may cause, especially to youngsters. The effects may emerge years after the event, and can last a lifetime.
I do not know if Harry meets the diagnostic criteria for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD – many who claim to have it do not). But one of the main symptoms is avoidance of anything which may trigger flashbacks or distressing memories. I suspect that anything to do with the media, and the press in particular, will be very triggering for him, and explain his desire to escape.
This does not necessarily excuse him and his wife for the course they are taking, but I would hope that it would help us to show him a little compassion.
Wallis Simpson (note spelling) did not in any way “go into graceful retirement and be a private family” – the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were somewhat begrudgingly given those titles shortly before their wedding, and there was nothing “graceful” about their lifelong and very public resentment that she was denied the honorific “HRH”. Wikipedia shows her signature, which unlike the usual christian name/title format of the aristocracy that takes the grade of nobility as read, actually says and puts right in your face: “Wallis, Duchess of Windsor”.
They never (and to be fair, never could have) had a proper job and it is not clear to the casual looker what sources of income, apart from the gifts of friends and the French government, provided for their free-spending socialite existence. And their political leanings were as unsavoury as they were, for a significant period, dangerous: we are not, and are not likely to be, Blitzkrieged for five years by three huge and formidably efficient Armed Forces of the “woke”.
Princess Anne, whom I greatly admire, seems to have managed things far better – but then she has been sidelined from the Succession ever since Andrew was born, and as a rare British Olympic champion, married successively to the Army and the Navy, is far less safe for the “patriotic” Press to subject to the sort of abuse meted out to the rest of them. Andrew, of course, has fallen to the one accusation even a “Falklands hero” can’t withstand – although that itself is being quietly sidelined behind the current shock-horror headlines, and there are those who suggest that Harry, with his “unacceptable” wife, is a more conveniently expendable piece on the board.
I do think the “Royal Sussex” thing is a bad misstep, but again Princess Anne has not abandoned her own title or the additional “Princess Royal”: simply declined honours for any for her children, and I think Archie currently is in the same position. I don’t know what security arrangements PA has, but no member of the Family, public or private, can ever be safe without it – and that is hardly their fault, when you consider the absolute furore any harm to them would raise from the rest of the country, and the things we roar for, and our Governments happily do, to raise the risk.
Interestingly enough, the previous Duke of Sussex (Queen Victoria’s uncle) was also considered disgracefully liberal, but the shocking stances that caused such scandal then are now taken for granted as mere fundamentals of democracy. And he had a few problems with “unsuitable” brides himself…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Augustus_Frederick,_Duke_of_Sussex
Perhaps Her Majesty should address her errant grandson by quoting the words of that great non- Royalist leader , Oliver Cromwell :
” I beseech you in the bowels of Christ , pray consider it possible that you may be mistaken”.
Is this not exactly why they are justified in stepping back – because everyone has an opinion and routinely judges them, despite not having all of the information?
If only they had stepped back – relinquished their titles, not rented a $20 million mansion in Toronto, not moved their business interests to low tax Colorado, not begged Disney for a role… and given up on the self seeking publicity!
At least it’s a tasty Eton Mess.