Meghan returns to Canada as Harry is ordered into crisis talks with Queen, Charles and William
The Duchess departs leaving Harry to go into crisis talks with the Queen, Prince Charles and brother William.
Meghan Markle will reportedly return to Canada tomorrow, leaving Harry to go into crisis talks with the Queen and Princes Charles and William.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex left baby Archie behind when they returned to Britain earlier this week for their bombshell announcement about their royal exit.
The couple deeply hurt the Queen and infuriated Princes Charles and William with their statement that they would be stepping back from their roles as senior royals.
As Prince Harry is ordered to a crunch phone meeting wih his grandmother, father and brother over the royal separation, Meghan will be back in the air after only three days in the UK.
Harry and Meghan had always planned for Meghan to return to Vancouver while Harry remained to host the Rugby League World Cup 2021 draw, according to the Sun newspaper.
It is thought the pair didn’t want their eight-month-old son to suffer jet lag by flying to and from Canada within five days.
Overnight, the Queen, who was said to be left “deeply upset” by the announcement, held a joint meeting with her eldest son and grandsons. She has ordered staff from the three royal households to sort out the complicated details of the separation as soon as possible.
Harry and Meghan gave Palace ‘10 minutes notice’
News that Meghan was leaving the country came as it was revealed she and Harry reportedly ignored instructions from the Queen not to go public with their announcement.
The Queen and other members of the family were said to be left “hurt” by Harry and Meghan’s decision to issue a personal statement, which outlined their future lives as financially independent royals who will divide their time between the UK and North America.
But it appears the head of state tried to forestall any announcements after her grandson asked to meet at her private Sandringham estate, London media outlets are reporting.
Harry and Meghan went ahead and released their personal statement, which was a “bolt from the blue” for Buckingham Palace, according to sources.
The Times and Evening Standard report Prince Charles and the Duke of Cambridge only received details about the Sussex announcement 10 minutes before it was released.
Over the festive period, Charles is said to have told his son to come up with a thought-out plan for his wish to spend more time in Canada and America, and when he put forward a draft proposal was told time was needed to consider its implications, particularly funding.
The Queen agreed to Harry’s request to meet when he returned from Canada but the duke was told his grandmother would not discuss his proposals before he had talked them through with his father. Despite the request not to make any announcements, the Sussexes published their statement.
Harry and Meghan’s decision to split from the royal family has triggered outrage, with Prince Charles incandescent and Prince William furious such a major decision, effectively to exile themselves from the family, was made without consultation with the Queen.
The bombshell announcement led to intense discussions, deep into the night, between the Queen’s office in Buckingham Palace, Charles’s residence in Clarence House and the Kensington Palace apartments of Prince William.
One insider suggested Harry and Meghan would either have to be reined back into the family with tight controls or cast adrift, as it would be potentially damaging to the royal brand to have one branch of the family operating as a wildcard across the Atlantic. Royal insiders say the announcement was triggered in part by the Sussexes feeling abandoned because the Queen, 93, chose to highlight the core line of succession during her Christmas message. In the pictures on her desk were Charles, William and Prince George, but none of their son Archie, despite him being the Queen’s latest great-grandchild
.
Last week, a new royal portrait of the three generations next in line with the Queen was released, underscoring a renewed focus on a more compact monarchy.
The civil war inside the palace erupted on Wednesday evening, London time, when Harry and Meghan said they would step back as “senior” members of the royal family and work to become financially independent while continuing to fully support the Queen.
Buckingham Palace responded that discussions were at an “early stage”. A statement read: “We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through.”
Insiders say the Queen was “deeply upset’’.
Both Charles and William are trying to work out how Harry and Meghan’s call for independence and their desire to earn commercial monies — at odds with their oft-repeated desire for privacy — will impact on the monarchy.
Harry and Meghan, who have caused controversy for profligate spending, “woke’’ lectures and secrecy about their eight-month-old son, had just returned to London from a six-week break after finding royal life too strenuous and emotionally taxing.
Both had recently spoken of the difficulties of juggling royal life. Meghan in particular found it challenging to balance her celebrity lifestyle with public accountability, claiming no one had asked if she was OK, while Harry spoke of the emotional rollercoaster of being in the public eye.
Their personal difficulties in carrying out royal duties were aired during a promotional tour of some of the poorest areas of Africa, where Harry also appeared to confirm a rift with William.
Over the festive season, Harry and Meghan remained in their $12m Vancouver Island holiday hideaway despite calls from other family members to return to Sandringham to enjoy what could be one of the last Christmases with Prince Philip, who is 98.
The Sussexes’ announcement they would split their time between Britain and North America comes as they want to keep their recently taxpayer-renovated Frogmore Cottage and continue to have their $1m-a-year Metropolitan Police protection.
They want to keep their His and Her Royal Highness titles. Courtiers are perplexed at the decision that appears to give little thought for royal protocols, courtesy to the Queen or to their staff.
The Sun said: “This is a declaration of war on the family. There is fury over how they’ve done this without any thought for the implications for the institution. The Queen is deeply upset. The Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge are incandescent with rage.”
The Mirror accused Harry of being petulant and selfish. “The Sussexes strutted back from their extended holiday gushing about how keen they were to get back to work. But it seems that ‘work’ is to be reinventing themselves as celebrities in their own right … using Papa and Granny’s money.’’
Peter FitzSimons, chair of the Australian Republic Movement, said the issue highlighted the royal family’s waning power and brought its “surprising fragility” into sharp focus.
Harry and Meghan have trademarked the name SussexRoyal, and intend to make commercial deals, take sponsorships and undertake paid public speaking engagement, which as a royal are frowned upon. On their website, they said Frogmore House was a grace and favour home from the Queen and would be maintained for them so they would always have a home in the UK. They claim they are classified as “internationally protected people’’ and will thus still be protected by the Metropolitan Police, but they said they would relinquish their sovereign grant, believed to be more than £2m ($3.82m) a year and the non-official expenditure reimbursement of another £1m, to free up their “ability to earn a professional income”.
Their website said: “For this reason they have made the choice to become members of the royal family with financial independence. Their Royal Highnesses feel this new approach will enable them to continue to carry out their duties for Her Majesty the Queen, while having the future financial autonomy to work externally. While the contribution from the Sovereign Grant covers just 5 per cent of costs for the duke and duchess and is specifically used for their official office expense, Their Royal Highnesses prefer to release this financial tie.’’
Harry is believed to be worth about £30m after inheriting more than £20m from his mother, Princess Diana. Meghan is believed to be worth about £4m.
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