Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Announce Terms of Royal Transition
Etonline.com: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are preparing for their transition.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will officially step down as senior members of the royal family this spring, and on Friday, they took a moment to outline what that means for their future in a post published to their website.
"We are pleased to now be able to share with you an update on many of the details agreed at a meeting of the Royal Family in January 2020, which outlines The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s new roles, taking effect Spring 2020," the statement begins. "We had hoped to be allowed to share these details with you sooner (to mitigate any confusion and subsequent misreporting), but the facts below should help provide some clarification around this transition and the steps for the future."
As previously reported, Meghan and Harry will be financially independent, live a "more independent life as a family" between North America and the U.K., and continue to represent Queen Elizabeth II in a "more limited capacity." The couple will no longer be using their HRH titles, and be under a 12-month review period.
While they will no longer be able to carry out "official duties" for the Queen, Harry will continue to be sixth in line for the throne. "The Order of Precedence is unchanged," the terms state.
Other terms state that Harry "will retain the rank of Major, and honorary ranks of Lieutenant Commander, and Squadron Leader." He will not, however, "perform any official duties associated with these roles, but given his dedication to the military community and 10 years of service he will, of course, continue his unwavering support to the military community in a non-official capacity."
As a founder of the Invictus Games, Harry will still be able to continue to support the organization. They also confirmed that "their Institutional Office would have to be closed, given the primary funding mechanism for this official office at Buckingham Palace is from HRH The Prince of Wales. The Duke and Duchess shared this news with their team personally in January once they knew of the decision, and have worked closely with their staff to ensure a smooth transition for each of them."
Additionally, as ET reported earlier, since Meghan and Harry are no longer full-time members of the royal family, their use of the word "royal" will be limited.
On Friday, a Sussex spokesperson released a statement to ET, saying, “While the Duke and Duchess are focused on plans to establish a new non-profit organization, given the specific U.K. government rules surrounding use of the word 'royal,' it has been therefore agreed that their non-profit organization, when it is announced this Spring, will not be named Sussex Royal Foundation."
The couple has already been using Sussex Royal for their website and Instagram account. The statement notes that they do not plan to use the title "in any territory after Spring 2020," which means that trademark applications have been removed.