Meghan Markle and Prince Harry made waves by announcing that they intend to step back as senior members of the royal family and split their time between the UK and North America.
“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,” they wrote.
View this post on Instagram
Royal expert Charlie Lankston from DailyMail.com says the transition will free Meghan and Harry of many royal obligations: “Essentially, what this means is they will no longer be obligated to have a commitment to the royal family and the official duties of the other senior members of the royal family.”
Queen Elizabeth broke her silence on their explosive announcement, writing in a statement, “Discussions with The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage. We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through.”
Lankston believes her brief response is an indication that the Palace was unprepared for the announcement. “The statement suggests to me—and I’m sure to many other royal experts—that Buckingham Palace did not feel fully prepared with a response in terms of how they were going to handle this whole situation.”
It’s unclear how the Palace will move forward with this transition. Lankston says it will take time to see how things shake out: “I think right now Buckingham Palace isn’t sure how to position themselves in terms of what the Queen thinks, and what other members of the royal family think about this whole thing.”
Other members of the monarchy have yet to comment on the news.