Meghan and Harry’s Statement About Not Returning as Royals

Image Source: Getty / Karwai Tang

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not be returning as senior members of the British royal family. A year after their royal departure, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have confirmed to Queen Elizabeth II that they will not be reprising their working roles. As a result, the “honorary military appointments and royal patronages” held by the pair will be returned to the queen before they are redistributed among the rest of the “working members of the royal family.”

Shortly after the palace released their statement, Harry and Meghan responded with a statement of their own through their spokesperson. “As evidenced by their work over the past year, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the UK and around the world, and have offered their continued support to the organizations they have represented regardless of official role,” the statement read. “We can all live a life of service. Service is universal.”

The patronages and trusts that will be reverted to the queen include the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, the Rugby Football Union, the Rugby Football League, the Royal National Theatre, and the Association of Commonwealth Universities. Harry will also lose all of his honorary military appointments, despite serving in the British Army for 10 years.

Harry and Meghan announced their decision to step down as senior members of the royal family on Jan. 8, 2020, and they officially stepped down on March 31, 2020, after agreeing on a 12-month review with the royal family. The couple currently reside in Santa Barbara, CA, with their 1-year-old son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, and have another baby on the way. Harry and Meghan are set to sit down with Oprah Winfrey on March 7 for their first interview since stepping down as royals.