Prince Harry and Meghan Announce Move to North America, Step Down from Royal Duties

By Kayla Kunkel January 8, 2020 at 1:09pm

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced on Wednesday that “after many months of reflection and internal discussions,” they have decided to “step back” from the royal family and will be splitting their time between North America and England.

“We have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution,” a statement from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on their joint Instagram page says.

“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.”

The announcement comes only a few months after the Duchess opened up about her struggle to adjust to the large of amount of transitions she’s encountered over the past year and a half.

“Any woman, especially when they’re pregnant, you’re really vulnerable, and so that was made really challenging,” Markle said during an interview for a documentary. “And then when you have a newborn, you know. And especially as a woman, it’s a lot.

“So you add this on top of just trying to be a new mom or trying to be a newlywed. It’s um … yeah.”

The journalist asked if she was OK, and her attempt to hold back tears was extremely telling.

“I guess, also thank you for asking because not many people have asked if I’m OK, but it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes,” she said.

ITV’s @tombradby spoke to Meghan as he gained exclusive access to the royal couple as they toured Africa for 10 days with their son Archie.

The documentary, Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, airs on Sunday at 9pm on @ITV #HarryandMeghan https://t.co/Uy21iE6ozJ pic.twitter.com/XYlHVytiHF

— ITV News (@itvnews) October 18, 2019

The royal couple said on Wednesday that they plan to “balance their time” between North America and England while continuing to honor their duty to the Queen, the Commonwealth and their 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,” they wrote.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7EaGS_Jpb9/

While Prince Harry and Meghan didn’t disclose any more information regarding the “new charitable entity,” they promised more information would be available soon.

Do you think Prince Harry and Meghan are making the right decision?

According to their website, the couple will also be adopting a new media relations system in Spring 2020, which means they will no longer be participating in the Royal Rota system.

The Royal Rota system gives approved UK-based outlets exclusive access to the official engagements of royal family members.

The change in their media relations system not only reflects their transition to financial independence, but will also reflect “their wish to reshape and broaden access to their work.”

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