Harry and Meghan are taking a 'step back' from royal life

It's long been known that royal life hasn't exactly been treating the Duke and Duchess of Sussex well. It's also long been rumoured that it was the Family that was easing them out of the royal picture. But Harry and Meghan are clearing the air and it appears their departure from the BRF is their choice — and has been on their minds for a while."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," Harry and Meghan wrote in a statement posted on their Instagram. "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."Their plan now? "To balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages." They also acknowledged it's that balance that will "enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity." The move will also help give them the privacy they so desperately need, but they left that part unsaid. Harry and Meghan concluded their bombshell by saying they will share full details of their "exciting next step" in due time and will continue to collaborate with The Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William. "Until then, please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support," they wrote.

 

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“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. This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity. We look forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course, as we continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties. Until then, please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support.” - The Duke and Duchess of Sussex For more information, please visit sussexroyal.com (link in bio) Image © PA

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on Jan 8, 2020 at 10:33am PST

Earlier today there were rumblings of Harry, Meghan and Archie making a permanent move to Canada — but that didn't seem likely, considering they're currently working to get their charity off the ground. But with this new announcement, it looks like the Sussexes will indeed be splitting their time between England, Canada and maybe America, where Meghan's mom, Doria Ragland, resides. And if that means relocating their offices to Canada, at least on a part-time basis, well, come on over!Shortly after the Sussexes made their announcement, Buckingham Palace released a statement of their own — and a slightly contradictory one at that, claiming discussions with Harry and Meghan were "at an early stage."

Buckingham Palace have sent their own statement out, adding that discussions with the couple are at “an early stage.” pic.twitter.com/aCXyEMQuW8

— Omid Scobie (@scobie) January 8, 2020

Both Harry and Meghan know what their passions are and where their philanthropic strengths lie, and if some of their choices aren't in keeping with the Royal Family party line, then it makes sense for them to make this groundbreaking move. While it hasn't been said, the next step could very well be scrapping their HRH titles, which would be next-level fire. But if that's what it means to be "progressive" in these royal parts, we have to applaud them. The causes they believe in far outweigh being referred to as His/Her Royal Highnesses, and for that they deserve our utmost admiration.[video_embed id='1871001']Ryan Seacrest had an epic wipeout on live TV[/video_embed]