Prince Harry and Meghan to ‘Step Back’ as Senior British Royals

LONDON — Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, say they plan “to step back” as senior members of Britain’s royal family, a stunning announcement that underscores the couple’s wish to forge a new path for royals in the modern world.

A statement issued Wednesday evening by Buckingham Palace said the royal couple intend to become financially independent, shunning funds from the Sovereign Grant, to underpin their work on charities and intend to “balance” their time between the U.K. and North America.

The 35-year-old Harry is Queen Elizabeth II’s grandson and is sixth in line to the British throne. With his ginger hair and beard, Harry is one of the royal family’s most recognizable and popular members and has spent his entire life in the glare of the public eye.

Before marrying Harry in a royal wedding watched around the world in 2018, the Duchess of Sussex was an American actress known as Meghan Markle and a star of the TV show “Suits.” The royal couple has a baby son Archie, who was born in May 2019.

“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,” the couple said in a statement. “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.”

The statement, described by the palace as a “personal message from the duke and duchess of Sussex” was also posted on their Instagram page.

It was not known exactly where in the Americas the couple would spend their time, but the 38-year-old duchess of Sussex grew up in Los Angeles and filmed TV shows in Toronto. Harry and his family skipped the queen’s traditional Christmas gathering at her Sandringham estate this year to visit Canada and see Markle’s mother Doria, who lives in California.

The royal pair described their new roles on a website. The site notes that the Sovereign Grant, which funds the monarchy, covers just 5% of the costs for the duke and duchess and is used for their official office expenses but they want to cut this financial tie.

As an actress and a human rights activist, the duchess was accustomed to media attention before her marriage, but she has made no secret of the fact that the transition to being a global celebrity and part of Britain’s royal family was difficult. The royal couple particularly took issue with their treatment at the hands of the British tabloids, whose aggressive coverage of all things royal is legendary.

The royal couple revealed their struggles with the media during an ITV documentary “Harry & Meghan: An African Journey,” which followed them on a recent tour of Southern Africa. Both said they had struggled with the spotlight, particularly because they say much of what is printed is untrue.

The duchess told ITV last year that her British friends warned her not to marry the prince because of the intense media scrutiny that would follow in his country. But the U.S. television star said she “naively” dismissed the warnings, because as an American she didn’t understand how the British press worked.

“I never thought this would be easy, but I thought it would be fair. And that is the part that is hard to reconcile,” she said. “But (I) just take each day as it comes.”

The duchess said the pressure was aggravated by the fact that she went quickly from being a newlywed to being pregnant and then a new mother.

The British media have also made much of an alleged rift between Harry and his older brother, Prince William, who is second in line to the throne. Harry and Meghan last year opted out of living at Kensington Palace in London, where William and his family lives, and moved to a Frogmore Cottage at Windsor.

In the ITV interview, Harry acknowledged there have been some differences between him and the 37-year-old William, although he said most of what has been printed about a rift between the two brothers has been “created out of nothing.”

“Part of this role and part of this job and this family being under the pressure that it’s under, inevitably stuff happens,” he said. “But, look, we’re brothers. We’ll always be brothers. We’re certainly on different paths at the moment, but I will always be there for him, as I know he’ll always be there for me.”