Living in a big castle, having lots of land and money while being admired by everyone sounds good right? I bet 99 percent of all girls have once dreamed of being a princess. But the prince and princess life isn’t as beautiful as it might seem. That’s why Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, decided to become independent from the British royal family.
On Jan. 8, 2020 Harry and Meghan announced on their Instagram account “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.” That post raised a lot of questions. Why did they make that decision? Will that change the line of succession? What will happen to their titles? What does the Queen think about it? Where will they live?
Although Meghan is popular all over the world, she has to face and has faced lots of criticism by the press. The most recent accusations are that she is ungrateful and selfish for breaking up the royal family. That criticism is one reason why the couple wants to step back from the royal family. In a speech at a dinner for supporters of Sentebale, Harry pointed out that both Meghan and he saw stepping back as the only solution. He said, “The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly. It was so many months of talks, after so many years of challenges. And I know I haven’t always gotten it right, but as far as this goes, there was no other option.” Now that they will become financially independent from the Sovereign Grant, Harry and Meghan will also have the possibility of earning incomes in other careers.
Since Harry and Meghan are still members, just not working members of the Royal Family, the line of succession won’t be affected. That means Harry is still sixth in line and his son Archie is seventh in line to the throne.
Harry and Meghan used to be known as “His Royal Highness” and “Her Royal Highness” (HRH), but Buckingham Palace announced that the couple will stop using their HRH titles and give up all royal duties starting in the Spring of 2020. That means Harry and Meghan will still stay Duke and Duchess of Sussex, so Harry’s name will change from “HRH The Duke of Sussex” to “Harry, Duke of Sussex.”
The queen probably comprehends why Harry and Meghan decided to step back from their royal duties more than anybody else since she faces the same royal duties every day and knows the stress and pressure they bring. She stated, “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.”
Because of that, Harry and Meghan won’t completely move away from the UK, but spend some time in both Canada and the UK. Where they will live in Canada is still unknown, but since the couple spent their Christmas holidays in the Vancouver area of Canada, there are speculations that this is where they will live at least for part of the year.