Britain’s Prince Harry spoke on Sunday of his sadness at being forced to give up his royal duties in a deal with Queen Elizabeth and senior Windsors that will see him and his wife Meghan exit official roles to seek an independent future.
“IT BRINGS ME SADNESS”
In a speech to the Sentebale charity on Sunday, Harry said the final outcome was not what he and his American wife, a former actress, had wanted. “Our hope was to continue serving the queen, the Commonwealth and my military associations without public funding. Sadly that wasn’t possible,” the prince, the sixth-in-line to the throne, said.
“I’ve accepted this knowing it doesn’t change who I am, or how committed I am. But I hope that helps you understand what it had come to, that I would step back from all I have ever known to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life.”
“It brings me great sadness that it has come to this,” said Harry. He said the decision to step back had followed months of talks and had not been a decision he had come to lightly. They were not walking away, he explained. “As far as this goes, there really was no other option,” he added.
Under the arrangement, Harry will remain a prince and the couple will keep their titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex as they begin a new life split between Britain and North America where they will spend the majority of their time. But they will not take part in any future ceremonial events or royal tours.