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

 

[RomanianSchizo]

I would watch this. There’s actually a lot of social history around beekeeping in the UK. We have a tradition of ‘telling the bees’ which is that you’re supposed to go and sit by the hive and tell them about family events. Anything like births marriages and deaths is non negotiable and will cause the hive to leave if not informed.
You could do a brilliant docco just on British beekeeping techniques and oddities.
There’s more than one stately home in the UK with a beehive built in to the structure - roslin chapel, whic h is a fun rabbit hole of it’s own, is supposed to have hives built Into the roofs as well.
Bees are fascinating. Beekeepers live longer, the frequency of beehive noise is supposed to be healing - there’s one of the countries like Slovakia or Slovenia that has bee therapy where you go safely sit surround by hives and the sound. Bee stings are also good for arthritis. In moderation ofc.
Bees are amazing. Honey is amazing.

That's so cool, I love learning about ancient traditions like these.
Also not to derail the thread, but how can you get started as a beekeeper? It's something I've always been interested in.

 

[John Andrews Stan]

The fact that Meghan and Harry paid their comms team to give “exclusive” waffle iron details to Page Six just sends me. (A fellow KFer is the one who brought that story to the Daily Mail BTW.)

 

[Otterly]

That's so cool, I love learning about ancient traditions like these.
Also not to derail the thread, but how can you get started as a beekeeper? It's something I've always been interested in.

I dont know, maybe you could start a thread on it in self sufficiency? I would certainly be interested in reading. I can ask my neighbour next time I see him although I suspect the answer will be a gruff ‘buy a bloody beehive and put some bees in it.’

 

[ApeBass]

That's so cool, I love learning about ancient traditions like these.
Also not to derail the thread, but how can you get started as a beekeeper? It's something I've always been interested in.

If you're in the UK, most areas have a local beekeeping association that help out beginners by running courses and doing hive inspections. Otherwise, buy a beekeeping book, buy a hive, stick some bees in it. Be brave, you're going to get stung.

 

[John Andrews Stan]

In their 2022 Netflix series, Meghan made a big show about how she was so traumatized by criticism that she went to pains never to read or hear what was being said about her. In one scene, she covered her eyes while she and Harry watched footage of press coverage they’d received in the UK.

Times have changed. Meghan is now sending handwritten notes to TikTokers who stand up for her. In this case, a woman who said the avalanche of negative feedback on the WLM trailer made her “scared for Meghan” got this note on a card with Meggot’s royal cypher:

“Dear Amanda, I heard you were scared. Don't be! This is the fun part — let's enjoy it.

As ever, Meghan”



The funniest part is that this note shows that someone had the unfortunate task of telling Meghan that the logo for AE would look better without the stupid flourishes she thinks constitute “calligraphy.” (It’s not calligraphy. It’s embarrassingly try-hard with awkward and undesirable results.)

 

[Hubelublub]

In their 2022 Netflix series, Meghan made a big show about how she was so traumatized by criticism that she went to pains never to read or hear what was being said about her. In one scene, she covered her eyes while she and Harry watched footage of press coverage they’d received in the UK.

Times have changed. Meghan is now sending handwritten notes to TikTokers who stand up for her. In this case, a woman who said the avalanche of negative feedback on the WLM trailer made her “scared for Meghan” got this note on a card with Meggot’s royal cypher:

“Dear Amanda, I heard you were scared. Don't be! This is the fun part — let's enjoy it.

As ever, Meghan”

View attachment 7114127

The funniest part is that this note shows that someone had the unfortunate task of telling Meghan that the logo for AE would look better without the stupid flourishes she thinks constitute “calligraphy.” (It’s not calligraphy. It’s embarrassingly try-hard with awkward and undesirable results.)

View attachment 7114136

There is zero chance Meghan wrote that note herself. Zero.

This post would be great in the Meghan Markle thread.

 

[John Andrews Stan]

There is zero chance Meghan wrote that note herself. Zero.

I don’t think she’s paying some flunky to mimic her shitty trademark handwriting. Look at how much time she spends putting snacks into different plastic bags. Bitch has nothing better to do.

 

[teriyakiburns]

I swear this looks like the afrika korps logo. Maybe she should use fraktur instead of naff cursive.

 

[pylosurf]

The funniest part is that this note shows that someone had the unfortunate task of telling Meghan that the logo for AE would look better without the stupid flourishes she thinks constitute “calligraphy.” (It’s not calligraphy. It’s embarrassingly try-hard with awkward and undesirable results.)

It's so dumb. You can see that the "flourishes" are added afterwards, stupidly, like with the "I" or the "M" in Meghan. They wrote the note and then went back and added Donald Trump's hair to every other letter.

 

[Sean Andalou]

America's slickest celebrity fan magazine has a piece about Meghan Markle Mountbatten.

Meghan Markle Is 'Underestimated' and 'Overly Dismissed' as a Cultural Influencer, Says Netflix CEO​

https://people.com/meghan-markle-underestimated-overly-dismissed-says-netflix-ceo-11699802

People quotes just the Markle part of an interview in Variety.

... "I think Meghan is underestimated in terms of her influence on culture," he said. "When we dropped the trailer for the Harry & Meghan doc series [in 2022], everything on-screen was dissected in the press for days. The shoes she was wearing sold out all over the world. The Hermès blanket that was on the chair behind her sold out everywhere in the world." ...

Well he's got money on that horse, so what's he supposed to say?

Meghan Markle Mountbatten.
Hmm. MMM.
Too bad 3M is already somebody else's trademark.

https://news.3m.com/2025-02-25-Scotch-Brand-celebrates-100-year-milestone-by-launching-The-Next-100-Project-with-Jenn-Todryk

 

[obsdj]

King Charles was briefly hospitalized today (archive). Still has cancer, still not telling what kind, welp.

 

[teriyakiburns]

King Charles was briefly hospitalized today (archive). Still has cancer, still not telling what kind, welp.

Not sure what he has, but he was in hospital because he had the trots. It's a common reaction to chemo.

Conveniently, he was hospitalised right before he had to take a trip to Birmingham. He obviously didn't want to experience the stank of disgusting refuse everywhere, nor the smell of all the rubbish bags they left lying around.

 

[John Andrews Stan]

Graydon Carter isn’t done trashing Meghan. He absolutely nails her as “the Undine Spragg of Montecito”.

 

[Corpun]

King Charles was briefly hospitalized today (archive). Still has cancer, still not telling what kind, welp.

Gotta admit I feel bad for the spineless cuck. Waiting 70 years to become king only to get mystery cancer and your second son to become an even bigger cuck than you.

I have zero doubts in my mind Harry will be pussywhipped into skipping the funeral or even visiting his father on his deathbed because Meghan is a spiteful bitch.

 

[Tasty Tatty]

I have zero doubts in my mind Harry will be pussywhipped into skipping the funeral or even visiting his father on his deathbed because Meghan is a spiteful bitch.

It's gonna depend on who is he afraid of more, William or Meghan? William's never gonna forget that he missed their father's funeral due to his hoe, even if he might not want them there.

All shenanigans aside, I pray for this family. They've had such a bad time recently: Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth died one after the other. And now, both Charles and Kate got cancer scares. Then younger ones don't deserve the pain of losing their great-grandparents and feeling they might lose a grandpa either.

 

[John Andrews Stan]

This Harry charity scandal is probably the most painful and embarrassing thing he’s ever experienced — and it’s only going to get worse. Being pitted against a strong black woman accusing him of enabling or outright acting with misogyny/‘misogynoir’ () and harassment, AND playing the victim card while using media against her, has got to be his worst nightmare.

She isn’t backing down either. It’s going to get worse.

Something VERY interesting on this: A Big Four consultant with a lot of experience auditing non-profits posted on Reddit over a year ago and pointed out major red flags with Sentebale’s financials and the sudden, unexplained resignation of its longtime chairman prior to the beginning of a new fiscal year. I have worked with NGOs and what she’s saying is sound.

TL;DR We eatin’ good from Harry’s carcass in 2025.

 

[AnotherPleb]

It's gonna depend on who is he afraid of more, William or Meghan? William's never gonna forget that he missed their father's funeral due to his hoe, even if he might not want them there.

I wonder if William will even allow Harry there with the risk of Meghan being Meghan.

 

[John Andrews Stan]

I wonder if William will even allow Harry there with the risk of Meghan being Meghan.

From all reports it sounds like Harry is dead to William. Once his softhearted father is gone, I expect he will act to remove their titles and Harry will be invited but shunted to the back row of the funeral. The titles are a big deal, because the Waleses continue to travel together as a family, contrary to protocol and in direct defiance of QEII’s orders. It’s been written that William and Catherine have decided that they’d prefer to die together as a family than travel separately. (This assumes they’d all be killed in the event of an accident, which isn’t always the case.) This leaves Harry still dangerously close to inheriting the throne.

William has zero incentive to make life easier for Harry after he has habitually deceived and lied about him and his wife, put their family in increased danger with the racism claims, and co-signed all of Meghan’s outright lies and bullshit.

He won’t even meet or speak with Harry, knowing that anything that is said will be sold to the highest bidder. It’s unlikely Harry will ever have the guts to detach from Meghan and the fairy tale he helped sell, even if he comes to his senses and realizes she’s demonic. He’s not strong or humble enough to admit how very wrong he got it.

The smart money is on the brothers never reconciling.

 

[obsdj]

The smart money is on the brothers never reconciling.

Sad if true. I would hope they were smarter than what you said about traveling as a family though. William has his father's sense of duty to the realm, as well as the same painful memories of losing his mother that Harry has. I would expect them to spend as much time as a family unit together as possible, but not to take that great a risk in traveling -- how much of a hardship is it to put two kids with one parent on a separate airplane every now and then?

 

[John Andrews Stan]

how much of a hardship is it to put two kids with one parent on a separate airplane every now and then?

It’s worse than that. William flies them around in a helicopter. Yes, he’s a very qualified and experienced pilot. But the accident rates for helicopters are dismal. It’s a calculated risk to take them anyway (I have had to for work). But it seems foolish indeed to fuck around with the odds by doing so habitually for years.

Maybe William’s experience losing his mother has led to this “We all die together” mindset. Who knows. But it makes a lot of people nervous. If (God forbid) something happens, there WILL be acres of newsprint declaring that it had long been cause for concern but William is so strong-willed that even QEII gave up trying to make him see sense.