UK United Kingdom Royal Family / Royal Families Drama General Thread - formerly "Prince Harry and Meghan to step back as senior royals"

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have announced they will step back as "senior" royals and work to become financially independent.

In a statement, Prince Harry and Meghan also said they plan to split their time between the UK and North America.

The BBC understands no other royal - including the Queen or Prince William - was consulted before the statement and Buckingham Palace is "disappointed".

Senior royals are understood to be "hurt" by the announcement.

In their unexpected statement on Wednesday, also posted on their Instagram page, the couple said they made the decision "after many months of reflection and internal discussions".

"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."

They said they plan to balance their time between the UK and North America while "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."

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said discussions with the duke and duchess on their decision to step back were "at an early stage", adding: "We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through."

The couple's announcement on Wednesday comes two months after the Duke of York withdrew from public life after a BBC interview about his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in August.

Harry and Meghan to step back as senior royals

No other royals were consulted before the couple's announcement, the BBC understands.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[marjoram]

Yes, but I heard it was a lip reader who said she said “Hand”.

No joke.

 

[Geraldine]

The "exile" wants to return.

EXCLUSIVE Duke of Sussex asks former aides to help plot RETURN from his US exile in first stage of 'rehabilitation' strategy: Prince's friends vow to help smooth path back and dub it 'Operation Bring Harry In From The Cold'​

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13800335/Duke-Sussex-Harry-asked-former-aides-help.html

Prince Harry has sought advice from trusted former aides in Britain on how to mastermind a return from exile in the United States, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Sources said the Duke of Sussex is consulting people 'from his old life' as a working royal after allegedly growing dissatisfied with advice from American-based image experts.

The overtures signify the first stage in a strategy to 'rehabilitate' Harry that would involve him spending more time in the UK to repair his relationship with his father and potentially initiate a partial return to the royal fold.

Sources stressed that Harry and Meghan, who have spent the past four years living in self-imposed exile in California with their two children, are not seeking a permanent return.

...

 

[marjoram]

The "exile" wants to return.

EXCLUSIVE Duke of Sussex asks former aides to help plot RETURN from his US exile in first stage of 'rehabilitation' strategy: Prince's friends vow to help smooth path back and dub it 'Operation Bring Harry In From The Cold'​

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13800335/Duke-Sussex-Harry-asked-former-aides-help.html

Haz belongs in England, he was made there and we don’t want the useless thing. As a bonus prize they can take the Dirty Duchess too; just put her in a zoo or something so she can’t harass the nice, normal Brits.

 

[Whoopsie Daisy]

Meg is the Mike Carrol of Royals. She hit the jackpot and threw it all away because she's a retard.
I suppose it's the nigger side of her that couldn't help but chimp out.

 

[AnOminous]

The "exile" wants to return.

EXCLUSIVE Duke of Sussex asks former aides to help plot RETURN from his US exile in first stage of 'rehabilitation' strategy: Prince's friends vow to help smooth path back and dub it 'Operation Bring Harry In From The Cold'​

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13800335/Duke-Sussex-Harry-asked-former-aides-help.html

Do bongs even want this faggot back or are they just happy he went away?

 

[Dog-O-Tron 5000v5.0]

repair his relationship with his father

LOL it isn't Chuck he has to win over, it's Wills.

Charles spent an entire lifetime being sidelined and ignored even though he was destined to be King. He knows he's a caretaker King with a decade if extremely lucky, more than likely a couple more years. Besides the ceremonial stuff, he's probably spending all his time advising William, training him to take over, including him in decisions, and probably outright deferring some to William, especially longterm ones like family business.

If William doesn't want Harry back, the last time he's setting foot in the UK while he's upright is for King Charles' funeral.

 

[John Andrews Stan]

All of H and M’s business ventures hinge on having royal relevance. That’s why they’re struggling. I hope William blocks any and all attempts to ingratiate themselves with the Firm.

 

[Geraldine]

All of H and M’s business ventures hinge on having royal relevance. That’s why they’re struggling. I hope William blocks any and all attempts to ingratiate themselves with the Firm.

The thing is, Harry has more than enough money to start a small business.
But that would mean sullying his hands with work.
Not the sort of immigrant who opens a store.

And of course being English, an ethnic restaurant is out of the question.

 

[John Andrews Stan]

The thing is, Harry has more than enough money to start a small business.

Harry is a functional retard with a greedy consumerist wife. No one with even a middling IQ would have a hard time making money when they’re starting with several million inherited dollars. But Harry is dumb and Meghan has a voracious appetite for luxury goods.

 

[GratsTheat783]

If he's planning on coming back, I hope he's learned a good lesson about uhhhhhhh family or women or something.

 

[Carpe Jugulum]

Do bongs even want this faggot back or are they just happy he went away?

No take backsies.

 

[AssignedEva]

she doesn't want to let that Duchess title go.

If Wills does strip their titles, Meghan's probably going to keep using them anyway. It's not actually illegal to do so, although it is illegal to do so for the purposes of fraud (i.e. claiming you're a duchess to obtain goods and services). But she's not likely to get sued if she carried on swanning about calling herself a duchess. Worst case scenario she can buy a peerage off the Principality of Sealand.

If William doesn't want Harry back, the last time he's setting foot in the UK while he's upright is for King Charles' funeral.

I doubt Wills would ban Harry from the UK, it's more that Harry would not be invited to attend any royal event or granted access to any royal property. Which then begs the question of what Harry would come back for. Maybe he'd go crash at some of his friends' country estates but if they're looking to court royal favour maybe they wouldn't put him up for long.

 

[Dog-O-Tron 5000v5.0]

I doubt Wills would ban Harry from the UK, it's more that Harry would not be invited to attend any royal event or granted access to any royal property. Which then begs the question of what Harry would come back for. Maybe he'd go crash at some of his friends' country estates but if they're looking to court royal favour maybe they wouldn't put him up for long.

I don't think it would be an official ban. Nobody was stopping King Edward from returning to the UK, but he didn't.

 

[Geraldine]

I doubt Wills would ban Harry from the UK,

Does a King of the UK even have the authority to do this?

 

[John Andrews Stan]

Diana’s longtime hairdresser is finally spilling the beans in a new book. I rather appreciate the story about her trashing Muslim bullshit:



Meghan would probably have given such a portrait pride of place in publicity shots.

 

[OrionBalls]

She's going to try leveraging his kids for insane alimony. Did she forget the kids technically belong to the crown?

What kids? I don't usually subscribe to conspiracy theories, but there is no way that woman, if she had kids, wouldn't have published a book on parenting, by now. He might not let them be seen in public, but she's the type to make it about her, anyway.

 

[John Andrews Stan]

there is no way that woman, if she had kids, wouldn't have published a book on parenting, by now.

From what we’ve seen, one or both of the kids have imperfect appearances and she’s probably ashamed. Archie has a lazy eye and Lili seems to resemble a mini Pippi Longstocking. They’re also extremely Caucasian in appearance, down to their red hair. Meghan is so image-conscious that she wouldn’t want to present her kids to the world unless they were up to her standards.

Also, Meghan could barely write a children’s book and that was a huge flop.

 

[Geraldine]

They’re also extremely Caucasian in appearance

Well yeah.
In an earlier era their mother would be "passing for White".

 

[Otterly]

Do bongs even want this faggot back or are they just happy he went away?

Harry was regarded as a bit of a Lad, a bit dim but generally benign. Nobody minded him, plenty of public sympathy after losing his mum. Was generally seen as the spare, but wished well. I don’t think he was ever wildly popular but there was no ill will, even with multiple gaffes like the nazi fancy dress incident. He did a bit of time in the military and nobody thought he was anything but coddled through it but he showed willing I guess.
We are well used to spares - they’re supposed to marry some corn fed blonde South African heiress or minor aristocrat of good breeding and be irrelevant in the Cotswolds somewhere. Pop out a few charming children, shooting and fishing and the odd spread in Tatler. Adopt a few charities, look serious at Remembrance Sunday services. That kind of thing.
I think that’s something Harry never really grasped. We are a parliamentary monarchy, it’s not like the king literally rules the country but the monarch does work. Liz worked daily her whole life. The spare has all the benefits and none of the responsibility. It’s a much better job than being king in some ways.

Anyway there was no ill will towards Harry at all. He has acted like a twit, and now people genuinely dislike him. They also really dislike megs- I think he probably could come back tbh if she divorced him and married an Onassis type and he came back with his tail between his legs a a single father. But he will never be allowed back with her.

 

[John Andrews Stan]

I don’t think he was ever wildly popular

According to an Ipsos MORI poll in December 2017 (right after his engagement was announced), Harry had a popularity rating of 81%. This put him neck-and-neck with QEII. In a February 2018 Ipsos MORI poll, Prince Harry and Prince William were the two most popular royals.

That’s something that isn’t mentioned nearly enough to counter Harry’s squawking about “racist” Brits.