Yesterday (January 8), Meghan Markle and Prince Harry dropped a bombshell announcement on their Instagram feed: they’re planning to step down from their roles as “senior” royals and work to become “financially independent.”

“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,” they wrote.

The world was shocked by the decision, and according to reports, so was Prince Harry’s family—including Queen Elizabeth. Palace aides told Vanity Fair that senior royals were “hurt” and “devastated” by the decision to make the announcement without going through proper channels. And, reportedly, Prince Harry’s relationship with his grandmother (and boss) has been strained for some time.

“Things have been quite difficult since the wedding,” a source told Vanity Fair. “The Queen has been rather hurt by some of Harry’s actions particularly around the time of the wedding. She feels she has done everything to smooth the path for them but this could well be the last straw.”

There are still about a million questions as to how this will all work, and based on Buckingham Palace’s statement, those decisions have not necessarily been made yet. “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 though,” it said.

“Nothing has been ruled in or out, it’s too early to say, but it is hard to have an HRH title while working on a commercial basis if that’s what they plan to do,” a source told VF.

What we do know for sure is that this situation is quite involved, and we likely won’t have a clear picture of what Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s new life will really look like any time soon.

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