The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced their decision to step down as senior royals nearly a year ago and since then have made waves across the world. Royal Family members were said to be “hurt” by their decision and how they released their statement without running it by the Queen or Prince Charles. This was a clear break from protocol and resulted in the emergency Sandringham summit, where details of the couple’s plan were hashed out.
They officially stepped back from duties at the end of March.
While the Queen has said she supports her grandson’s decision to “carve out a new progressive role”, royal sources have suggested it was taken as a “declaration of war”.
One said: “The statement was not cleared with anyone.
“It breaks all protocol. This is a declaration of war on the family.
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“There is fury over how they’ve done this without any thought for the implications for the institution.
“The Queen is deeply upset. The Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge are incandescent with rage.
“Courtiers can’t believe it. There are so many unanswered questions but they’ve just up and done it without a thought for anyone else.”
The source told Harry and Meghan have “exiled themselves” from the Royal Family.
They added that they will work to become financially independent.
Since officially stepping down, the couple moved to Canada briefly before settling in California, USA.
They lived in their friend Tyler Perry’s Los Angeles mansion for several months before buying their own $14.7million (£11.4million) home in Santa Barbara.
Amongst their efforts to earn their own money, they have signed a lucrative deal with Netflix to produce programmes, which is estimated to be worth around $100,000 (£740,000).
They have also started a podcast with Spotify and are launching their own non-profit organisation, the Archewell Foundation.
As well as this, they have been raising their one-year-old son Archie Harrison and speaking out about issues important to them, such as Black Lives Matter, the US election and working towards a more compassionate online space.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, they have not been back to the UK since leaving for North America, but it is believed they will be spending an extended period back across the Atlantic when restrictions are lifted.
Meanwhile, they have paid back the £2.4million from the Sovereign Grant which paid for their renovations at Frogmore House and handed over the keys for the place to Harry’s cousin Princess Eugenie, who is expecting a baby this year.
However, Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank were only there for around six weeks before heading back to Kensington Palace for an unknown reason.
The couple’s statement back in January 2020 read: “After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution.
“We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.
“It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment.
“We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages.”
