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

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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.

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“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.

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.

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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 honour 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 post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on

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

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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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Kayla has been a staff writer for The Western Journal since 2018.
Kayla Kunkel began writing for The Western Journal in 2018.
Birthplace
Tennessee
Honors/Awards
Lifetime Member of the Girl Scouts
Location
Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
News, Crime, Lifestyle & Human Interest




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