“We intend to work to become financially independent”

Harry and Meghan announced tonight that they will give up their leading role in the British royal family. “After several months of reflection and internal discussions, we chose to make a transition this year by starting to carve out a new progressive role within this institution,” they explained on their Instagram account.

“We intend to step back as 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, especially in recent years, that we feel ready to make this adjustment.

We now plan to balance our time between the UK and North America, continuing to honor our duty to the Queen, the Commonwealth and our sponsorships.

This geographic balance will allow us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition in which he was born, while providing our family with space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charity.

We look forward to sharing all the 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 parties involved. Until then, please accept our sincere thanks for your continued support. “

Harry and Meghan had already chosen to depart from tradition by not spending Christmas with Queen Elizabeth and the other members of their family but by going to Canada. A few months ago, they had explained in a documentary that they no longer supported the fierceness of the media towards Meghan Markle.

See this post on Instagram

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“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 honor 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. ”- The Duke and Duchess of Sussex For more information, please visit sussexroyal.com (link in bio) Image © PA

A publication shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on 8 Jan 2020 at 10:33 am PST

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