Queen, Prince Harry, others to hold talks on ‘step back from royal duties’
The Queen of England has been reported to have summoned senior royals to Sandringham on Monday for face-to-face talks to discuss the future roles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Queen Elizabeth, Harry’s grandmother, and Prince Charles, Harry’s father, will meet with Prince Harry, the Duke of Cambridge and the Prince of Wales while Meghan is expected
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan had said that they will step back from their senior roles and spend more time in North America.
There is no suggestion a conclusion will be reached at the meeting.
But BBC royal correspondent Jonny Dymond said it is hoped that the talks will produce a “next step” on the way to defining the couple’s new relationship with the Royal Family – in line with the Queen’s wish to find a solution within days.
Harry and Meghan’s announcement to to step back from royal duties on Wednesday evening, took Queen Elizabeth, Harry’s grandmother, and Prince Charles, Harry’s father, by surprise as they were not consulted on the statement.
Harry said that after months of reflection and discussion, the couple planned to carve out a “progressive new role” by stepping back and splitting their time between the UK and North America to allow them their family the space it needed.
They hope to become financially independent and set up a new charity, while continuing some royal duties.
Cast by the couple as an exciting next step, it was not immediately clear how the couple will become what royal biographers said was akin to being a “half royal” – and who will pay for their transatlantic lifestyles.
Royal commentators drew parallels with the abdication crisis of Edward
Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, a divorcee whose mother is African-American and father is white, married in May 2018 in a lavish ceremony in Windsor Castle, and at the time it was heralded as a sign of a more modern monarchy.
In 2019, Meghan gave birth to their first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
But their relationship with the media turned sour as they struggled to deal with the intense scrutiny it brought.
There have been negative stories criticising their use of private jets while promoting environmental causes and the 2.4 million pound (3.08 million dollars) taxpayer-funded renovation of their new home.
The couple, whose titles are the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, began legal action against some tabloid newspapers in October over historic phone-hacking and invasion of privacy.
Harry described the treatment of his wife as “bullying”, and likened it to that of his mother, Princess Diana, before her death in a Paris car accident in 1997, when her limousine crashed as it sped away from chasing paparazzi.
