Buckingham Palace has released a statement on Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex‘s future plans.

The statement from The Queen:

Following many months of conversations and more recent discussions, I am pleased that together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family.

Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved members of my family.

I recognise the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life.

I want to thank them for all their dedicated work across this country, the Commonwealth and beyond, and am particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family.

It is my whole family’s hope that today’s agreement allows them to start building a happy and peaceful new life.

royal.uk

This is, again, a more personal statement from HM, as we saw on Monday. HM’s statement comes across as a “I release you with love” type of thing, whereas BP’s statement is more factual on what this “constructive and supportive way forward” actually means.

Statement from Buckingham Palace:

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are grateful to Her Majesty and the Royal Family for their ongoing support as they embark on the next chapter of their lives.

As agreed in this new arrangement, they understand that they are required to step back from Royal duties, including official military appointments. They will no longer receive public funds for Royal duties.

With The Queen’s blessing, the Sussexes will continue to maintain their private patronages and associations. While they can no longer formally represent The Queen, the Sussexes have made clear that everything they do will continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty.

The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have shared their wish to repay Sovereign Grant expenditure for the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage, which will remain their UK family home.

Buckingham Palace does not comment on the details of security arrangements. There are well established independent processes to determine the need for publicly-funded security.

This new model will take effect in the Spring of 2020.

royal.uk

Unpacking this statement, Harry and Meghan will:

• No longer use HRH titles.
• No longer be considered working members of the royal family.
• No longer perform royal duties on behalf of the HM.
• No longer retain military appointments.
• No longer receive Sovereign Grant (which accounts for 5% of their funding).
• Keep their patronages.
• Uphold the values of Her Majesty (whatever that means).
• Repay the £2.4 million Sovereign Grant expenditure on Frogmore Cottage.
• Keep Frogmore Cottage as their UK home.

BP doesn’t comment on security, but Harry and Meghan will most likely be keeping their taxpayer-funded security.

Additional information not stated in this statement but which various royal reporters have explained:

• Harry will now be known as “Harry, Duke of Sussex”. (RE)
• Meghan will now be known as “Meghan, Duchess of Sussex”. (RE)
• Harry will remain a Prince and retain his HRH title, but will not use it. (RE)
• There will be no oversight on Harry and Meghan’s commercial deals. (EA)
• Harry and Meghan will continue to receive financial support from Prince Charles – not clear if it’s Duchy money or not. (EA)
• Use of the “Sussex Royal” name is still being discussed. (EN)
• These arrangements begin in the Spring, and Harry and Meghan have engagements before then. (EN)
• Harry and Meghan will split their time between North America and the UK, but majority of their time will be in NA. (EN)
• Harry and Meghan will pay some amount of rent on Frogmore Cottage. (RN)

It’s amusing to me that Harry and Meghan will use the form of titles reserved for divorcees, because in essence they are divorcing themselves from the royal family.

Other thoughts I have: it’s not “independence” if daddy is still paying millions of dollars for funding every year; they are now going to make millions of dollars from commercial deals.

There is no much to go over from this past week that I haven’t covered yet, and I’m sure much more in the weeks and months ahead. This saga is far from over.