Queen gives
reluctant blessing to Harry and Meghan's plans
She agreed
to a ‘period of transition’ and stressed the couple remain ‘a valued part of my
family’
Caroline
Davies
Mon 13 Jan
2020 19.19 GMTLast modified on Mon 13 Jan 2020 20.22 GMT
The Queen
has given her reluctant blessing to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to split
their time between the UK and Canada, making it clear that though she had
wanted the couple to remain as full-time working royals, she supported their
decision.
After a
historic summit of senior royals at Sandringham, details over exactly how Harry
and Meghan will carve out the new “progressive” roles they seek remained
unclear. The Queen has, however, agreed to a “period of transition” and
stressed the couple remain “a valued part of my family”.
But there
were “complex matters” still to resolve, and “more work to be done” as she said
she wants final decisions to be reached in the coming days.
The Queen’s
statement came after more than two hours of talks, which began against the
backdrop of Prince William and Prince Harry attempting to stem rancorous
speculation about their relationship in a joint statement.
Shortly
after the Sandringham summit ended, the Queen issued a personal and informal
statement in which she also struck a conciliatory tone.
“Today my
family had very constructive discussions on the future of my grandson and his
family.
“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”.
“Harry and
Meghan have made clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds in
their new lives.
“It has
therefore been agreed that there will be a period of transition in which the
Sussexes will spend time in Canada and the UK.
“These are
complex matters for my family to resolve, and there is some more work to be
done, but I have asked for final decisions to be reached in the coming days”.
In a highly
unusual move Harry and Meghan were not referred to as the duke and duchess in the
statement, only as the Sussexes and by their first names, raising questions
about whether they will retain their titles in the future.
Monday’s
unprecedented summit was attended by the Queen, Charles, William and Harry, and
was the first time the senior royals had met since the Sussexes made their
shock statement last Wednesday. Meghan was due to join by conference call from
Canada, where she has been since Friday, with the couple’s son, Archie, and
their two dogs.
The couple
want to “step back” as senior royals, perform royal duties “as called upon”,
continue their charitable work and, crucially, be allowed to earn a income.
The palace
had been blindsided by the timing of the couple’s announcement, made without
warning, which left family members feeling “disappointed” and “hurt” according
to sources.
Ahead of
Monday’s meeting William and Harry broke their silence over the royal crisis to
condemn speculation about their relationship as “offensive and potentially
harmful”
In a show
of unity, the brothers jointly attacked a UK newspaper report, thought to be in
the Times, though senior aides did not specify. A statement, issued through the
princes’ respective offices, said: “Despite clear denials, a false story ran in
a UK newspaper today speculating about the relationship between the Duke of
Sussex and the Duke of Cambridge”.
“For
brothers who care so deeply about the issues surrounding mental health, the use
of such inflammatory language in this way is offensive and potentially
harmful”.
Monday’s
Times cited a source claiming Harry and Meghan regarded themselves as having
been pushed away by what they saw as a “bullying” attitude from William. It
reported the source, said to be close to the couple, as saying William was
insufficiently welcoming to Meghan when she first started dating Harry. The
source claimed that William’s attitude resulted from the competitive nature of
his relationship with his younger brother.
The last
year has seen repeated reports of a suspected rift between the brothers. Harry
then appeared to confirm the speculation when he told an ITV documentary in
October that the brothers, once so close, were on “different paths”.
It is
unusual for palace aides to issue such vehement public denials on such personal
matters. The fact they did so is indicative of just how sensitive feelings are
within the family as they seek to reconcile differences and contain the crisis
to prevent further damage to the monarchy. The palace is also desperate to
avoid a repeat of any narrative such as the so-called “War of the Waleses”,
which accompanied the breakdown of Charles and Diana’s marriage.
Final
decisions yet to be made on the Sussex’s severance from full-time royal duties
will have huge implications for the shape of the monarchy, and for the future
roles of young royals including Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, the
youngest of the Cambridge’s three children.
No details
were given of issues discussed, but they were likely to have included how much
time the couple intend to spend in Canada, where their son will be raised, what
royal duties they will still perform, and what commercial activities would it
be feasible for them to undertake in order to become self-funding yet not risk
tarnishing the royal brand.
One
possible blueprint regarding how the couple could approach commercial
enterprises are guidelines devised almost 20 years ago after the Countess of
Wessex was accused of cashing in on her royal status in a bid to win business
for her PR firm from a “fake sheikh” undercover reporter.
Those rules
advise royals to first consult the Lord Chamberlain – the most senior official
of the royal household – before taking on any new business activity. They also
require that anyone connected with a business activity “should be carefully
briefed not to try to exploit , either deliberately or inadvertently, the
member of the royal family’s position, associations or access.”
Both
Edward, who worked in television, and Sophie, who worked in PR, stepped down
from their jobs after aides accepted they worked in areas prone to accusations
of exploitation.
As the
summit was under way, there were unconfirmed reports in the Evening Standard
that Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau had privately assured the Queen
that Canada would pick up the bill for round-the-clock security for the couple
while living there.
Penny
Junor, royal biographer, said the Queen’s statement was “friendly and warm” and
gave the couple space to find some perspective.
“I think it
will take the pressure off them. I think they’re in a very vulnerable state at
the moment. I think they’re unhappy, they feel isolated and unloved, unappreciated
and they needed careful handling,” she said. “My reading from that statement is
that the family has been sensitive to their vulnerability.”
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