Harry and Meghan are officially ‘out of office’ for royal duties

What has felt like the longest month, well, ever, has also marked the official end of Harry and Meghan’s time as working members of the royal family. Both the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (yes, they’re still the Duke and Duchess) and the Palace made Harry and Meghan’s end date of March 31 clear, but things got very real this week when Harry and Meghan’s permanent out of office reply was installed on their royal email account. Okay, now it’s *really* official.According to People, Harry and Meghan’s royal email account is now sending auto-replies to anyone who tries to correspond with the couple. Those hoping to drop a line or two to the famous pair will be met with the reply “Many thanks for your email. The office for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has now closed.” Harry and Meghan are now out of office in Los Angeles. OOO LA-LA.Harry and Meghan dismissed their royal staff in February, which acted as the first major sign that the couple did not intend on going back on their decision to leave their roles as active members of the royal family. A few employees in the 15-member team were reassigned to other areas of the Palace, including the couple’s head of their communication team, Sara Latham. In her new role, Latham will be an advisor to the Queen on special projects, working closely with the 93-year-old monarch’s private secretary, Edward Young.[video_embed id='1931587']RELATED: Critics pan Meghan Markle’s work in ‘Elephant’ as ‘shallow’[/video_embed]Now that Harry and Meghan are no longer officially working as representatives of her majesty, Buckingham Palace will cease all official forms of communication on behalf of the pair. According to a statement released on March 31, “no other royal communications representatives act on behalf of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, including palace spokespeople, Household representatives nor royal sources.”Harry and Meghan also made a statement that same day in their final post on their Sussex Royal Instagram page. The couple have been barred from using the title Sussex Royal going forward and posted what appears to be a goodbye message on their @SussexRoyal page. “As we all find the part we are to play in this global shift and changing of habits, we are focusing this new chapter to understand how we can best contribute,” write Harry and Meghan. “While you may not see us here, the work continues.”

 

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As we can all feel, the world at this moment seems extraordinarily fragile. Yet we are confident that every human being has the potential and opportunity to make a difference—as seen now across the globe, in our families, our communities and those on the front line—together we can lift each other up to realise the fullness of that promise. What’s most important right now is the health and wellbeing of everyone across the globe and finding solutions for the many issues that have presented themselves as a result of this pandemic. As we all find the part we are to play in this global shift and changing of habits, we are focusing this new chapter to understand how we can best contribute. While you may not see us here, the work continues. Thank you to this community - for the support, the inspiration and the shared commitment to the good in the world. We look forward to reconnecting with you soon. You’ve been great! Until then, please take good care of yourselves, and of one another. Harry and Meghan

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on Mar 30, 2020 at 9:17am PDT

In their new post-royal life, Harry and Meghan will retain their titles, but will not actively use His Royal Highness/Her Royal Highness. Harry, who is sixth in line to the British throne, and his 11-month-old son Archie, who is seventh, will retain their places in the order of succession.The couple surprised followers in March when they left the house they’ve been renting since November on Vancouver Island and relocated to Markle’s hometown of Los Angeles. It was expected that Harry and Meghan would make Canada their home base and go back and forth to California. The pair are reportedly eager to begin the next chapter of their lives and Markle has already made her return to the big screen, lending her voice to Disney’s new documentary Elephants, which will be released on April 3.[video_embed id='1932327']BEFORE YOU GO: etalk @ Home: Top stories from April 1[/video_embed]