The road to independence has been a rocky one for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

It all started when Meghan and Harry chose not to spend to Christmas with the Queen and snowballed from there.

The couple returned from Christmas in Canada and announced that they would be exiting the Royal Family.

The Queen then released a balanced statement and the negotiations commenced.

And you thought your holiday season was stressful. Welcome to ‘The Firm’ (Diana’s name for the family).

More recently, the couple was informed that they would not be able to use the word ‘Royal’ in their branding. This led to a statement on their website SussexRoyal (soon to be called something else, presumably).

The Daily Mail with the statement from Harry and Meghan, broken down bit by bit:

“It is agreed that the commencement of the revised role of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will take effect Spring 2020 and undergo a 12 month review. The Royal Family respect and understand the wish of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex to live a more independent life as a family, by removing the supposed ‘public interest’ justification for media intrusion into their lives. They remain a valued part of Her Majesty’s family”.

They’ve already had issues with the press in Canada. Harry can’t even buy a sandwich without it making headlines. 

“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will become privately funded members of The Royal Family with permission to earn their own income and the ability to pursue their own private charitable interests.”

“The preference of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex was to continue to represent and support Her Majesty The Queen albeit in a more limited capacity, while not drawing on the Sovereign Grant.”

“While there is precedent for other titled members of the Royal Family to seek employment outside of the institution, for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, a 12-month review period has been put in place.”

Meghan and Harry are referencing other royals, like the Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie who don’t receive any money from the Queen and earn their own keep.

“Per the agreement The Duke and Duchess of Sussex understand that they are required to step back from Royal duties and not undertake representative duties on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen.”

“As agreed and set out in January, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will retain their “HRH” prefix, thereby formally remaining known as His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will no longer actively use their HRH titles as they will no longer be working members of the family as of Spring 2020.”

Here’s where things get interesting. Meghan supposedly told friends that the Queen “doesn’t own the word ‘Royal'” and that there was nothing legally preventing her and Harry from using it.

The Queen has reportedly responded by hiring top lawyers to enforce the ban on the Sussex Royal branding.

“As the grandson of Her Majesty and second son of The Prince of Wales, Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex remains sixth in line to the throne of The British Monarchy and the Order of Precedence is unchanged.”

Meghan told a friend that “Harry and Archie have royal blood and no one can take that away. And that as a family, they will always be considered royalty”.

 “It was agreed that The Duke and Duchess will no longer be able to formally carry out ‘official duties’ for The Queen or represent The Commonwealth, but they will, however, be allowed to maintain their patronages (including those that are classified as ‘royal’ patronages).”

Harry will be singing with Jon Bon Jovi soon for one of those aforementioned patronages.

“It is agreed that The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will continue to require effective security to protect them and their son. This is based on The Duke’s public profile by virtue of being born into The Royal Family, his military service, the Duchess’ own independent profile, and the shared threat and risk level documented specifically over the last few years. No further details can be shared as this is classified information for safety reasons.”

Fair enough. They are high profile people who can’t do anything without a string of photographers following them everywhere.

“In relation to the military, The Duke of Sussex will retain the rank of Major, and honorary ranks of Lieutenant Commander, and Squadron Leader. During this 12-month period of review, The Duke’s official military appointments will not be used as they are in the gift of the Sovereign. No new appointments will be made to fill these roles before the 12-month review of the new arrangements is completed.”

The mysterious royal insider that the Daily Mail consulted believes that the passive-aggressive nature of the above statement is yet another PR disaster for the couple.

Another royal know-it-all concurs:

Prince Charles’ biographer Tom Bower told MailOnline that the public is ‘finally seeing Meghan’s true nature and motives’.

‘Her comments about the Queen’s decision smacks of spiteful fury,’ he said. ‘I fear it will get worse.’

Just a reminder that Meghan and Harry released the statement together, so it’s not just her. 

What a family…

[source:dailymail]