Title Withdrawal Causes Split in the Royal Palace
The press released shocking news on the evening of Wednesday, January 8 stirring the royal fans alongside media broadcasted all over the world. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their resignation from their royal positions indicating they wanted to start a new chapter and become financially independent. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex surprised everyone with their announcement, though many indications have shown this decision coming.
Quitting royal life isn’t a decision that anyone makes in a short amount of time, which suggests their lengthy planning process has led to this announcement, and there is certainly a well-thought out plan in place. They spoke in the documentary from their recent tour of Africa about several daily hardships that challenge them in their positions as members of the world’s most famous family. This suggests the documentary could have been planting the seed of their predisposed exit.
It is evident that neither of them enjoy being in the spotlight. “It’s hard,” Meghan said in an interview with a journalist for the documentary, “I don’t think anybody can understand.”
Prince Harry has repeatedly stated that Meghan’s poor treatment by the tabloid press is ‘bullying’ as recorded by a recent interviewer on BBC news. In the same interview, Prince Harry steps forward with deep sorrow, “I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”
This golden couple, glamorously portrayed with smiles on their faces, have decided that they had no other choice. “I don’t blame them,” said Nicky Day, Junior Pre-Counseling major at Moody Bible Institute, “There are cameras on them all the time. Could you imagine raising a kid in a world where you could never simply walk outside?” There were great chunks of the job that they simply didn’t like, with the cameras being of the highest despise. Meghan has said from the beginning that she didn’t want to be a voiceless figurehead. However, moments of vocal commentary were retaliated and criticized by mass media. Too much about being a frontline royal turned the Duke and Duchess away from their responsibilities.
Multiple sources have mentioned that the couple is already independent of the palace, due to the Queen’s disappointment from ceasing to receive notice beforehand. The openness about this emotion and the division that is talked about between the Palace and the couple shows how great of a deal this separation is. Normally, the Palace will hold everything together– smoothing over the cracks of any turbulence and putting on their best outfit. This is clear that Harry and Meghan are already viewed independently of the Palace and thus, independent of the royal family.
Under the current rules of being independent, Harry and Meghan have decided to become financially independent from the Sovereign Grant. The Sovereign Grant is public money that pays for the cost of official royal duties. In their new roles, the couple is classified as “internationally protected people”, which means that they have armed security provided by the Metropolitan Police. Though the cost of their many travels between Sussex and North America won’t be a small price. When appropriate, the Sovereign Grant will contribute.
Bryony Gordon, a Daily Telegraph journalist who interviewed the couple, suggests that their decision to step down could be linked to their mental health, after becoming a “punching bag” for a “misogynistic and racist” nation. In 2017, Gordon had interviewed the prince in which he revealed he sought counseling while struggling in his late twenties to cope with the death of his mother. She adds, “Here is a man who every day has to live out the trauma that he experienced as a little boy when he had to walk behind her coffin at the age of 12 in front of the world, and I think if any of us were put in that situation we would find it incredibly triggering.”
His decision to step down from the royal position echoes of Princess Diana when she stepped back from 50 of her charities without consulting anyone. Princess Diana literally died from the result of the paparazzi harshness. This goes to say that being a royal isn’t as it appears: with glamour glued to their faces. Tragedy and tabloid threats make the lifestyle not only a danger, but bring about serious concerns for mental health after being attacked by the news and others. Not to mention, the controlling rules and regulations rob the royals of improper behavior while in front of the public eye– which is a life lived almost entirely publicized. Perhaps the decision to live a more normal life will give them the desired freedom to create a better life for their son, Archie.
