Prince Harry Speaks: He is Sad

By Jeralyn, Section Foreign Affairs
Posted on Sun Jan 19, 2020 at 10:12:56 PM EST
Tags: Royals, Harry and Meghan (all tags)

Share This: Digg!

Prince Harry today publicly addressed his sadness at not being able to continue working for the Crown as he and Meghan branch out to live their own lives.

Her Majesty the Queen issued this statement yesterday. It is followed by a statement from Buckingham Palace with the what Harry and Meghan are giving up. In addition to their titles and public funds, they have requested to repay the Crown for the cost of remodeling their residence at Frogmore Cottage ($1.3 million) which will continue to be their home when in England.

As agreed in this new arrangement, they understand that they are required to step back from Royal duties, including official military appointments. They will no longer receive public funds for Royal duties.

[More...]

With The Queen’s blessing, the Sussexes will continue to maintain their private patronages and associations. While they can no longer formally represent The Queen, the Sussexes have made clear that everything they do will continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty.

So the Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have shared their wish to repay Sovereign Grant expenditure for the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage, which will remain their UK family home. (Other reports are that the Queen demanded it)

Also, while they are losing their public funding, Prince Harry will still receive money from his father, Prince Charles, at least for a year.

Apparently, they still keep the titles "Duke and Duchess of Sussex". The New York Times has more.

Harry today:

“It brings me great sadness that it has come to this,” Harry said. “The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly. It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges

So, did Harry act too precipitously? He said talks have been underway for months. I suspect he wanted out long before Meghan came along to be his partner. Still, it seems a big short-sighted.

(R.I.P. Rob Grill, 2011)

I think we can all sympathize that Harry and Meghan just want to be free.

Welcome to North America, Harry and Meghan. I think you'll both be fine, so long as you remember that freedom is a commodity far more precious than money.

< Thursday Open Thread | NYTimes Passes Over Biden and Bernie. Picks Both Women >

Legal

Nothing on this site should be construed as legal advice. TalkLeft does not give legal advice.

TalkLeft is not responsible for and often disagrees with material posted in the comments section. Read at your own risk.

Prince Harry Speaks: He is Sad | 11 comments (11 topical)

Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

Will they now be known as... (5.00 / 1) (#1)
by desertswine on Sun Jan 19, 2020 at 11:03:10 PM EST

the Markles?

: Mountbatten-Windsor (none / 0) (#2)
by oculus on Mon Jan 20, 2020 at 12:16:42 AM EST

The Queen was Not Amused. (none / 0) (#3)
by KeysDan on Mon Jan 20, 2020 at 01:20:47 PM EST

Despite the seemingly warm words from the Queen, the severance appears to be harsher than Harry and Meghan expected. The new role the couple sought is more than "the step back" proposed. They did get royally taken to the cleaners---no place for part-timers. No more His and Her Royal Highnesses. No more military titles, such as captain general of the Royal Marines. Still Duke and Duchess of Sussex, however. And, still a Prince.

No money from the Sovereign Grant. And, they need to re-pay the $3 million spent on refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage on the grounds of one of the Queen's Castles. But, there is still to be support from Dad, Prince Charles, and also the millions in inheritance from Diana.

A driving force, apparently, was for Harry to protect his family from paparazzi and media. Hope this works out for them, but I wonder. They may become even more popular.

The monarchy is an anachronism that the Brits seem to cherish. And, it is a tourism draw. Without the bling of it all, the country would run the risk of having all the pizzaz of Switzerland, without the Alps. Although, Boris Johnson does add non-Royal flavor.

Have you ever been to Switzerland? (5.00 / 1) (#4)
by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Jan 20, 2020 at 05:04:21 PM EST

KeysDan: "The monarchy is an anachronism that the Brits seem to cherish. And, it is a tourism draw. Without the bling of it all, the country would run the risk of having all the pizzaz of Switzerland, without the Alps."

While the Swiss can be (and have been) accused of a great many things, I daresay a lack of pizazz shouldn't be one of them. Switzerland is actually one of my favorite European countries.

And London is one of my favorite cities, period. While its monarchy and nobility certainly add color, Britain has a lot more going for it than you might otherwise realize. It's a beautiful country, populated by a proud people who have a long and stirring history of doing some serious a$$-kicking around the world -- that is, when they're not too busy scrapping with each other.

So, don't mess with the Brits. They'll drop their polite and snobbish mannerisms in a hurry and have no problem picking up the sword instead. Speaking as a historian, I'm hard-pressed to think of a more ruthless and aggressive people in the world than have been the British, who fought more than 70 wars around the globe during the 19th century alone. You don't come to rule one-quarter of Earth's land mass and much of its oceans by being effete.

;-D


Agreed. And I'm Irish, so (5.00 / 1) (#6)
by Towanda on Mon Jan 20, 2020 at 09:45:28 PM EST

it's not easy to admit that, much as I love Dublin and Paris and Rome and Montreal and more, I fell in love with London. And the people are as gracious and welcoming as could be.


I love Ireland. (none / 0) (#7)
by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Jan 20, 2020 at 10:59:43 PM EST

It's a haunting land that noted American author Leon Uris once described as "a terrible beauty." I would love to visit there again.


Yes, and don't forget (5.00 / 2) (#9)
by fishcamp on Tue Jan 21, 2020 at 07:42:28 AM EST

we Scottish Highlanders who have been trying to separate from the dreaded English for centuries.


: It's seems as though you already have. ;-D (none / 0) (#10)
by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Jan 21, 2020 at 02:05:38 PM EST

As for the Scots themselves, after the Act of Union in 1707 they made common cause with the English in a mutual quest for empire to the enrichment of both peoples. I understand the present rancor between the two countries, but much of it seems rooted in an ongoing dispute over public resources, e.g., North Sea oil revenues. Most of the offshore petroleum appears to be in Scottish waters. London controls it, and Scotland has long desired a much greater share of that revenue.

The sovereign grant was only 5 percent (5.00 / 1) (#5)
by Towanda on Mon Jan 20, 2020 at 09:41:58 PM EST

of their income.

And the Queen, in her comments, was very gracious to Harry and especially to Megan.

The Queen's anger is aimed at Charles, He was supposed to come up with a plan for the Sussexes several months ago. He didn't get it done, so the Queen had to give him a deadline of only a few days,

(I am not surprised. This sort of screwup is said to be standard for Charles and the reason the Queen sees him as not capable of being the Crown.)

Good for Harry. He was born third from the throne and now is sixth from the throne -- and William could have more progeny.. Harry was headed for a life of uselessness like Andrew, and he has taken a wise step toward a better life.


: Harry and Meghan are apparently ... (none / 0) (#8)
by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Jan 20, 2020 at 11:13:39 PM EST

... going to settle down -- at least for the time being -- on Vancouver Island, somewhere between Victoria and Nanaimo. It's a gorgeous island, just across the sound from both Vancouver, BC and Seattle, WA. I have a cousin who lives in Duncan. She went up there on vacation with a friend in 1974, and both of them met and fell in love with local men and relocated. She's long since become a Canadian citizen and loves the place.

It could've been worse. (5.00 / 2) (#11)
by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Jan 21, 2020 at 02:15:10 PM EST

Her Majesty could have bestowed upon the royal couple another title altogether.