Royal review likely to see Harry and Meghan lose many formal titles
The consequences of leaving the royal family are starting to hit home for Harry and Meghan.
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The Duke of Sussex is said to be “upset” after the Queen agreed he should be stripped of his royal patronages and honorary military roles.
An announcement is expected in coming weeks confirming Prince Harry will be removed from a number of official positions, including his role as captain general of the Royal Marines, reports say.
Both Harry, 36, and Meghan Markle, 39, will have to give up all the positions they kept when they stepped down as working members of the royal family, which are a gift from the Queen, according to The Sun.
Included in the roles they will have to relinquish are the Duchess’s role as patron of the National Theatre and Harry’s two rugby patronages, The Times reports.
He is patron of the Rugby Football Union and the Rugby Football League.
Harry is also honorary air commandant, RAF Honington, and commodore-in-chief, Small Ships and Diving, Royal Naval Command.
The decision was made as part of the 12-month review of the agreement struck when the couple decided to step down in January last year.
In the deal with the Queen, Harry and Meghan were allowed to retain their patronages for the time being although Harry had to put on hold his military appointments.
“His military work is one of the most important things to him,” a friend was quoted as saying. “Of course he wants to keep them.”
The Palace has maintained that it would not be possible for the couple to be half in and half out of the royal family.
A source said: “There was no choice. The reality of not being able to have their cake and eat it is finally dawning on him.
“I am sure it is really painful for him. He is very upset to be in this spot. But they have made some choices.
“They have lots of exciting things to work on, and that can be done with everyone’s best wishes.”
A former senior naval officer said: “I think people would not wish to upset Her Majesty. Nor can I see how, if the rumours that Harry wishes to live in America and even become an American citizen are true, his wishes could possibly be acceptable.”
It is believed the announcement will be made before the review period closes at the end of next month.
There is a grey area over their positions with two Commonwealth organisations.
The duchess is patron of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, and both are respectively president and vice-president of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, an organisation set up by his office in 2018 to mark the Queen’s 92nd birthday.
A Commonwealth source said: “I think for them the novelty has worn off. In the early days they thought the Commonwealth could be their thing. But I don’t see any appetite for maintaining that engagement.”
The couple are expected to keep their private patronages.
These include Harry’s roles as patron of Sentebale, a mental health charity, and the Invictus Games Foundation.
Meghan is patron of Smart Works and the animal charity Mayhew.
Meghan and Harry announced on Valentine’s Day they were expecting their second child.
The pair have also lined up an interview with Oprah Winfrey which is scheduled for March 7.
The “tell-all” interview is expected to be filmed this week for a 90-minute special show.
MEGHAN, HARRY TO TELL-ALL IN INTERVIEW
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will break their silence in a no holds barred interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Just 24 hours after the couple announced they were expecting their second child, it was announced that Winfrey will hold an “intimate conversation” with the two during a 90-minute interview that will air in the US on Sunday, March 7.
“Winfrey will speak with Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, in a wide-ranging interview, covering everything from stepping into life as a royal, marriage, motherhood, philanthropic work to how she is handling life under intense public pressure,” US TV network CBS said in a statement.
“Later, the two are joined by Prince Harry as they speak about their move to the United States and their future hopes and dreams for their expanding family.”
Winfrey is said to be close to the couple; she attended their 2018 wedding at Windsor Castle and is also one of the couple’s neighbours in California’s exclusive Montecito suburb.
In December, Oprah shared an Instagram video where she unpacked a “basket of deliciousness” of Clevr Blends goodies from “my neighbour ‘M.’”
A spokesman confirmed the gift was from for the Duchess of Sussex.
Winfrey, who also spent time with Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland prior to Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding, once said of the couple’s nuptials: “It was more than a wedding, I thought. It was a cultural moment. And you could not be there or watching on television … and not feel that there was a shift that just happened in the middle of it. I think it’s bigger than them, and I think it bodes well for hope for all of us.”
Winfrey has also been working with Prince Harry for the past two years on a documentary series for Apple focused on mental health.
MEGHAN, HARRY’S TOUCHING TRIBUTE TO DIANA
Prince Harry and Meghan have made a touching tribute to Princess Diana as they announced they were expecting their second child.
The news was revealed on Valentine’s Day – the same day that Princess Diana told the world 37 years ago that she was pregnant with Prince Harry.
Newspaper clippings from that day showed a radiant Princess Diana, as they celebrated the joyful news of what would be Prince Harry’s arrival.
The Daily Express front page from 1984 ran a picture of Diana with the headline “The smile that says it all”.
Prince Harry and Meghan released an image of the two of them, taken by Misan Harriman.
The black and white image showed Meghan resting her head on Prince Harry’s thigh, as she rested her hands on her baby bump.
Meg, I was there at your wedding to witness this love story begin, and my friend, I am honoured to capture it grow. Congratulations to The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on this joyous news!#remoteshoot #shotonipad #shotbymisan pic.twitter.com/3iSYjydVj9
— Misan Harriman (@misanharriman) February 14, 2021
The news was announced in a statement, just days after Meghan had a court win over a British newspaper.
That case sparked rumours of a pregnancy when it was adjourned last year for nine months for “private reasons”.
But finally the good news was revealed this morning.
“We can confirm that Archie is going to be a big brother,” a spokesman for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex said.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are overjoyed to be expecting their second child.”
The couple informed the Queen before going public with the news.
No details have been confirmed of the timing of the birth but it is likely the baby will be American.
The United States is one of the few countries that gives citizenship on birth, making the child an American member of the British royal family.
The couple kept Archie’s arrival in May 2019 under wraps, only announcing that Meghan was in labour seven hours after he was born at the $35,000 a night Portland Hospital in London.
It was likely they would go to similar lengths to protect their privacy again.
The pregnancy comes after Meghan bravely revealed that she had a miscarriage in July 2019.
Meghan wrote in the New York Tim es that she was holding Archie when she found out.
“I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second,” the Duchess wrote.
Prince Harry was expected back in the UK for his grandfather Prince Philip’s 100th birthday celebrations in June.
He was also due to be at the unveiling ceremony for a statue erected in his mother’s honour in Kensington Gardens on what would have been her 60th birthday on July 1, 2021.
It was reported that Prince Harry was likely to return to Britain alone.
The pregnancy might mean that Meghan was unable to fly to Britain if she is more than 36 weeks, although, some international flights restrict women above 28 weeks pregnant.
Prince Harry and Meghan quit royal duties last year after the Queen rejected their half-in, half-out model.
They have since paid $20 million for a mansion in Montecito, near Santa Barbara, in California.
And they have signed multi million deals with Netflix and Spotify for television and podcast productions.
There was a 12-month review on their departure due in March, however, there was little chance of a return to full royal duties since their commercial deals were inked.
Prince Harry has been working on keeping his military titles, which have yet to be reassigned.
The pandemic has meant that the Queen has not been able to see her great grandson Archie.
Originally published as Royal review likely to see Harry and Meghan lose many formal titles
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