Prince Andrew comes in from the cold to support the Queen in Megxit strife
The Queen looked happy as she attended church following the Megxit deal which stripped Meghan and Harry of their HRH titles. Royal watchers were surprised to see who went to church with her.
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Harry and Meghan might be out of the royal family, but the Queen had a surprise supporter at a Sunday church service when she brought a fallen prince in from the cold.
Prince Andrew has emerged in public with the Queen at St Mary the Virgin Church in Norfolk.
The young royals, Harry and Meghan, have lost their royal titles, but Prince Andrew remains in the Queen’s inner circle and is still referred to as His Royal Highness.
His presence was remarkable because he was forced to step down from royal duties last year because of his links to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The wealthy businessman, accused of grooming Australian-based woman Virginia Roberts Giuffre, killed himself in a New York jail in August while awaiting child sex charges.
The Queen was all smiles as she arrived at the church near her Sandringham estate.
She was wearing a grey houndstooth checked dress and matching coat with a grey hat.
Supporters backed the Queen’s handling of Megxit.
Karen Astoe, 55, from Dudley in the West Midlands, said: “She’ll just take it in her stride won’t she, she’ll be fine,” said Ms Astoe. “She looked very happy.”
Royal fan Rosie Viles, said: “It’s not a surprise what has happened.”
“It’s sad but it’s his decision,” Mrs Viles added.
“He perhaps thinks of his mum and doesn’t want the pressure for his wife and child.
“I think that now they’ve agreed to pay back Frogmore I think a lot of people will appreciate that.”
BURNING QUESTION OVER MEGXIT AGREEMENT
The address for the security bill for Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, remains unclear, with Buckingham Palace refusing to release any details.
The cost of the security for the couple, estimated at up to $A14 million per year, was one of the sticking points in negotiations about their new transatlantic life.
Canada has been pressured to pick up some to the bill there when the couple make a permanent base there.
But Buckingham Palace was tight lipped about what the couple needed and who would pay for it.
“Buckingham Palace does not comment on the details of security arrangements,” a statement said.
“There are well established independent processes to determine the need for publicly-funded security.”
The couple would be a terrorism target because of their profile, even without the royal titles that they have had to give up for their new found freedom.
That threat means there would be significant pressure on the British Government to sign off on the bill.
Meghan has been staying at a Vancouver Island mansion in Canada with baby Archie and a yoga friend, Heather Dorak, jetted in for the weekend.
Harry was due to fly back to Canada within days, fresh from signing the deal.
Any new property they purchase may also need to be upgraded with extra fences and security cameras.
The Canadian Government has said that Harry and Meghan would be safe there, but there were concerns about the cost.
Chris Matthews, a former Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer said: “They need personal body guards all the time.
“You have to pay those peoples’ salaries,” he told Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper.
“You’ve got to pay for the vehicles they travel in and the aircraft they travel in. You have to pay for the communications equipment they require because it has to be sophisticated so that you can’t listen to it.”
HARRY, MEGHAN LOSE ROYAL TITLES AS MEGXIT DEAL SEALED
The Queen has drawn a line in the sand on Megxit by forcing the couple out, despite the warm words in her public statements, a leading royal commentator says.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will now be known as Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex after the Queen negotiated for them to stop using their HRH titles.
The couple also have to pay back the $5 million for renovations on their Frogmore Cottage home and pay rent if they use it in the future.
It comes as Prince Harry is due to fly back to Canada within days to be with Meghan and baby Archie now that the deal has been finalised.
Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine and a biographer of William and Harry, said the Queen was trying to keep the peace but maintained a hard line.
“She doesn’t want to see any more family upsets during her lifetime and certainly not any more broken marriages,” Ms Seward told News Corp Australia.
“But within her briefly worded statement lies an iron fist in a velvet glove. She talks about a ‘constructive and supportive’ way forward and she supports ‘their wish for a more independent life’.
Ms Seward said losing their HRH titles was a major blow, which Harry would realise.
“The Queen is saying no one can be half in and half out of the royal family. When she became Queen in 1952, she gave up everything to take up the reins of the monarchy on the death of her father King George VI,” she said.
“She was a mother with two young children and a feisty attractive husband whom she no longer had time to be with.
“She had a unique sense of duty which Harry appears to be lacking but admires it in his grandmother.”
Some charities have already been reassured that Harry and Meghan will continue to support them, including Rhino Conservation Botswana.
“If anything our relationship should get stronger,” Map Ives, director and founder of the charity.
“Yes, he is going to have to go out and earn some money but he has a personal understanding of biodiversity and about the health of the planet which leads him to want to be involved and want to help us with awareness.”
There are questions as to how the couple will make their money, amid concerns about pressure to deal with businesses that may lead to conflicts of interest.
PR expert Mark Borkowski said it would be harder for the couple to maintain their momentum and profile outside the royal family.
“They can raise a lot of money. They can make a lot of money and they clearly have an ambition and a purpose. This is a significant move into another world and we haven’t seen that since Edward and Mrs Simpson,” he said, referring to the abdication of the Queen’s uncle, Edward VIII, in 1936.
MEGXIT DEAL FINALISED
The Queen revealed the sealing of the Megxit deal this morning with a bombshell statement marking the conclusion of talks.
“Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved members of my family,” she said.
“I am pleased that together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family.”
The door has been left open because their HRH titles have not been taken away, they are just on ice — the couple will not use them, but will still retain them.
Under the Megxit deal, Prince Harry, who was born Prince Henry of Wales, will no longer be called a prince in official statements. He remains a prince but will not use his birthright.
His new title Harry, Duke of Sussex, echoes that of his mother, who was known as Diana, Princess of Wales, after she lost her royal title during her divorce from Prince Charles 24 years ago.
The Queen’s grandson has also relinquished his position as Captain General of the Royal Marines, which was passed to him from Prince Philip, who had held it from 1953 to 2017.
In the statement, the Queen appeared to empathise with the pair, saying she supported their wish for a more independent life.
“I recognise the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life,” the Queen said.
“I want to thank them for all their dedicated work across this country, the Commonwealth and beyond, and am particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family.
“It is my whole family’s hope that today’s agreement allows them to start building a happy and peaceful new life.”
Buckingham Palace did not comment on the security arrangements for the couple and baby Archie but it was expected they would still receive protection because of their high profiles.
It remains to be seen whether they will still be referred to as royalty by the public, despite their efforts to step back from the monarchy.
Prince Harry and Meghan had dozens of charity roles under their previous royal arrangements.
Buckingham Palace said their private charity work will remain, but they will have to drop the royal jobs, including the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust.
“With The Queen’s blessing, the Sussexes will continue to maintain their private patronages and associations,” the palace said.
“While they can no longer formally represent The Queen, the Sussexes have made clear that everything they do will continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty.”
Buckingham Palace did not answer questions about whether the couple will be able to use their sussexroyal brand.
The couple posted the Queen’s statement on their Instagram page and it received almost half a million likes in 40 minutes.
Many of those who commented were supportive of their unprecedented move.
“Best choice Your Majesty! They deserve to be happy,” Fernandofpratt wrote.
Another said: “This is the response that a loving grandmother would have for her beloved babies. Good luck y’all, you deserve your happily ever.”
THE QUEEN ‘VERY SAD’ ABOUT BABY ARCHIE
The Queen is understood to be “very sad” about her lack of quality time with baby Archie, and that he may grow up without his British family after Megxit.
At just eight months old Archie has had little time with his cousins Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and Prince George, and extended royal family.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh did not attend Archie’s christening because of a scheduling conflict with an event at Sandringham.
According to the Sunday Times, a source revealed that the Queen “will be very sad to have barely seen Archie and that he will miss out on growing up with his cousins and wider family.”
Archie was photographed being held by Meghan as they attended apolo match with Prince William and Kate and their children last July. But such gatherings may be a thing of the past.
MEGHAN ‘EYES UP MANSION’
According to reports, Meghan and Harry have already made inquiries about a $40 million West Vancouver beachside property.
When announcing their decision to quiet as senior royals on Instagram, they said they planned to be financially independent of the royal family.
In reality, they will need to work hard if they expect to take on a mortgage on the stunning six-bedroom, five-bathroom Canadian mansion.
“Meghan has expressed an interest in this beautiful house. It would be perfect for her, Harry and little Archie,” an estate agent source in Canada told The Sun newspaper in London.
“The neighbourhood is known as a haven for wealthy people and has a very laid-back atmosphere. I’m sure they would be very happy there, and they would be welcomed with open arms.”
ROYAL IMAGE FALLS IN PRICE
Meanwhile, the financial appeal of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex seems to be declining in the UK. Mugs with the royal couple’s image have fallen in price by 20 per cent, while tea towel packs are down 70 per cent on some websites.
Photographs show that stores near Windsor Castle slashed the price of Prince Harry and Meghan mugs from $19 to $15.
A popular department store dropped tea towels from $19 to $5.70.
MEGHAN’S SISTER WEIGHS IN
Samantha Markle, Meghan’s half-sister, poured petrol on her family’s war with a blistering interview on British TV.
She said the couple should apologise to her father, Thomas, who is likely to become a key witness in a lawsuit Meghan brought against the Mail on Sunday newspaper.
“We aren’t talking about teenagers, we are talking about adults who knew what they were doing and in regards to my father it was so incredibly wrong and shocking,” Samantha said on ITV’s This Morning.
'It's not always a good thing being right - it's somewhat sad to be right in this case, and it's been difficult'
— This Morning (@thismorning) January 17, 2020
We chat to Samantha Markle about what she makes of the latest royal news, and why she thinks Meghan is tarnishing the family name.https://t.co/H8JDhICzpF
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Samantha said that Meghan enjoyed the limelight in her early days of being a royal but did not like the scrutiny and was disappointed with her stepping back from her role.
“I just thought it was a gross breach of duty or honour and confidence that was placed on her,” she said.
Meghan has already signed a deal with Disney to do voiceover work in exchange for a donation to Elephants Without Borders.
MEGHAN AND HARRY WILL ‘STRUGGLE’
Media crisis consultant Mark Borkowski said the couple would struggle to make “clean money” in their split from the royals.
“It’s a difficult thing to navigate, to keep credibility for everything you do,” he said.
Meghan has flown in her friend yoga entrepreneur Heather Dorak for the weekend at her current luxurious Vancouver Island retreat, where she is staying with baby Archie.
Meghan was spotted driving, with a security guard in the front seat, to the Victoria International Airport in British Columbia to pick up Ms Dorak, who is from Texas.
In pictures published in the British press on Friday, Meghan was shown in a Land Rover Discovery, which is a favourite of the royal family, at the airport on Thursday.
Ms Dorak, who was a guest at the royal wedding, also helped write for Meghan’s now closed blog The Tig.
The owner of Pilates Platinum, which has studios in Texas and California, was spotted leaving the airport before being picked up by Meghan.
The couple’s staff at Frogmore Cottage have been redeployed, sparking suggestions they may never come back.