Prince Harry and Meghan Markle laid bare their hostility with Buckingham Palace — by insisting that neither Queen Elizabeth nor the UK Government owns the word “royal” internationally.
Hours after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed on Friday they would not go ahead with their planned “Sussex Royal” brand after The Queen put a stop to it, they posted an extraordinary statement on their website insisting they still had the right to the word “royal.”
The statement reads: “While there is not any jurisdiction by The Monarchy or Cabinet Office over the use of the word ‘Royal’ overseas, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not intend to use ‘Sussex Royal’ or any iteration of the word ‘Royal’ in any territory (either within the UK or otherwise) when the transition occurs Spring 2020.”
The new statement from the couple, who are continuing to move forward with their plan to step down as senior royals, indicated that negotiations were tense with Buckingham Palace over the terms of their departure from the Royal Family on March 31st.
Saying their “preference” had been to “continue to represent and support Her Majesty The Queen albeit in a more limited capacity,” they appeared to complain they had been treated differently to other members of the family and hinted at their regret they had not received all the concessions they had hoped for.
The website update came just hours after a Buckingham Palace statement which confirmed once and for all that they would be abandoning their attempts to work under the name “Sussex Royal”.
The Sussexes said: “We had hoped to be allowed to share these details with you sooner (to mitigate any confusion and subsequent misreporting), but the facts below should help provide some clarification around this transition and the steps for the future.
“The Royal Family respect and understand the wish of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex to live a more independent life as a family, by removing the supposed ‘public interest’ justification for media intrusion into their lives. They remain a valued part of Her Majesty’s family.
“The preference of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex was to continue to represent and support Her Majesty The Queen albeit in a more limited capacity, while not drawing on the Sovereign Grant.”
Disclosing their unhappiness, the statement continued: “While there is precedent for other titled members of the Royal Family to seek employment outside of the institution, for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, a 12-month review period has been put in place.
“Per the agreement The Duke and Duchess of Sussex understand that they are required to step back from Royal duties and not undertake representative duties on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen.”
On the topic of security — amid reports their private protection could spiral into millions abroad a year — they said: “It is agreed that The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will continue to require effective security to protect them and their son. This is based on The Duke’s public profile by virtue of being born into The Royal Family, his military service, the Duchess’ own independent profile, and the shared threat and risk level documented specifically over the last few years.”
Meanwhile, they confirmed they are closing their London office, based at the Palace, saying they “have remained actively involved in this process, which has understandably been a saddening for The Duke and Duchess and their loyal staff, given the closeness of Their Royal Highnesses and their dedicated team.”
They have worked closely with their staff who will be redundant as of April 1, “to ensure a smooth transition for each of them,” they said.
Contradicting initial plans, which saw them register “Sussex Royal: The Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex” at Companies House, the Sussexes will now instead “develop a new way to effect change and complement the efforts made by so many excellent foundations globally”.
“The creation of this non-profit entity will be in addition to their cause driven work that they remain deeply committed to,” they said. Addressing fans directly, and imploring them to use their personal website “as the source for factual information,” they said: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex eagerly await the opportunity to share more with you and greatly appreciate your support!”
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