The Queen makes rare statement on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to leave royal family

Publish Date
Tuesday, 14 January 2020, 10:06AM

Less than a week after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they plan to work to become "financially independent" and will be scaling down their official royal dutiesthe Queen has officially spoken out saying she is "entirely supportive" of their decision.

The 93-year-old monarch held talks with her grandson, his brother Prince William, and his father Prince Charles overnight following their shock announcement last Wednesday.

And the Queen has now she has released a statement saying that whilst she "would have preferred" to see Prince Harry and Meghan Markle continue as "full-time working members" of the royal family, she is supportive of their final decision.

In the statement, she said: "Today my family had very constructive discussions on the future of my grandson and his family.

"My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family. Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working members of the royal family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family."

The Queen’s statement went on to explain that Harry and Meghan - who have eight-month-old son Archie together - will not be relying on "public funds" in their life outside of the royal family, and will be spending time in both the UK and Canada. 

She continued: "Harry and Meghan have made it clear they do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives.

"It has therefore been agreed that there will be a period of transition in which the Sussexes will spend time in Canada and the UK.

"These are complex matters for my family to resolve, and there is some more work to be done, but I have asked for final decisions to be reached in the coming days."

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In a statement posted to their Instagram account, the Sussexes wrote: "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."

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