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Prince Harry Delivers Emotional Speech About Decision to Step Back From Royal Life


By now you’ve likely heard the news that Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, are officially stepping back as senior members of the royal family. And, you’ve likely heard plenty of rumors as to why they made that decision. But now, Prince Harry is setting the record straight, calling their decision to step down the only option.

On Sunday, he addressed the crowd at a dinner in honor of the Sentebale charity in London. Harry started his speech by stating, “I want you to hear the truth from me—as much as I can share, not as a prince or a duke, but as Harry, the same person that many of you have watched grow up over the past 35 years, but now with a clearer perspective.”

He continued, “The U.K. is my home and a place that I love. That will never change. I have grown up feeling supported by so many of you, and I watched as you welcomed Meghan with open arms, as you saw the love and happiness that I had hoped for all my life.” He added, with a slight chuckle, “Finally, the second son of Diana got hitched, hooray!”

In the speech, Harry explained that he and Meghan had the same values, beliefs, and hopes for the future and serving the queen. However, it quickly became apparent to the duo post-marriage that their life in the public eye would soon cause a strain that made it too hard to continue with life as-is.

“The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly,” he said. “It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges. And I know I haven’t always gotten it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option. What I want to make clear is, we’re not walking away, and we certainly aren’t walking away from you.”

Harry then noted the couple hoped to continue their work serving the monarchy without the assistance of public funds, something the couple has been clear they would like to do in the future. “Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible,” he said. “I’ve accepted this knowing it doesn’t change who I am or how committed I am, but I hope it helps you understand what it had come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life.”

He closed his speech by stating he remains committed to his grandmother’s work, who he has the “utmost respect” for and “will continue to be the same man who holds his country dear and dedicates his life to supporting the causes, charities and military communities that are so important to me.”

“Together,” Harry said, “you have given me an education about living, and this role has taught me more about what is right and just than I could ever have imagined. We are taking a leap of faith, so thank you for giving me the courage to take this next step.”

Earlier this month, Harry and Meghan shocked the world by announcing their decision via social media.



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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Are ‘No Longer Working Members of the Royal Family’


After days of negotiations, the royal family has decided what’s next for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. The verdict? They are indeed stepping down from their senior royal positions and are “no longer working members of the royal family.”

Sussex Royal, the official Instagram account of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, released a written statement from Queen Elizabeth on Saturday, January 18. In it, Queen Elizabeth says that, “I am pleased that together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family.”

She continues, “I recognise the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life. I want to thank them for all their dedicated work across this country, the Commonwealth, and beyond, and am particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of our family.”

The details for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s new arrangement were outlined in a separate statement from Buckingham Palace. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will still be referred to as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but they will no longer use “HRH” titles. The couple are officially no longer working members of the royal family and can no longer formally represent the Queen. However, the couple assures that “everything they do will continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty.”

Financial arrangements were also shared in Buckingham Palace’s statement. The couple will repay the taxpayer money that contributed to the refurbishment of their royal residence, Frogmore Cottage. They’ll also stop receiving public funds for royal duties.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s new arrangement will go into effect sometime this spring, per the statement from Buckingham Palace. “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are grateful to Her Majesty and the Royal Family for their ongoing support as they embark on the next chapter of their lives.”

This story is developing, but we’ll continue to update this post with details.



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Meghan Markle Makes First Appearance Since Announcing She's Stepping Down as a Senior Royal


Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s decision to “step back” as senior royals shocked the world over the last few days. But amid the whirlwind, the Duchess of Sussex made some time for an engagement. On Tuesday, January 14, she paid a visit to Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre. The organization shared that Markle had tea with members and discussed several issues affecting the community.

The Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, which provides a safe space for women while creating social programs, advocacy, and support, shared the news with a photo of Markle smiling next to several women. “Look who we had tea with today! The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, visited us today to discuss issues affecting women in the community,” the center wrote on Facebook.

Both Markle and Prince Harry have had a lot going on since issuing a statement that explained they hope to transition into new roles in the royal family and establish financial independence. On Monday, January 13, Prince Harry made his way back to London for a meeting convened with the Queen, in which they reportedly discussed details of what the new set-up might look like. That day, the Queen broke her silence on the situation. “My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family,” she said. “Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working Members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family.”

She added that Markle and Prince Harry will split their time between Canada and the U.K., and it seems that engagements like visiting the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre are all part of what the couple has envisioned in their new arrangement. They’ve said they want to keep working on the charities and public issues they’ve been championing, so Markle surely has more events like this in her future.



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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Reportedly Feel They're Being ‘Driven Out’ of the Royal Family


Meghan Markle and Prince Harry‘s decision to “step down” from their roles as senior royals sent shockwaves around the world—and inside the royal family itself.

On January 8, the couple made the announcement on their @SussexRoyal Instagram page. “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.

Journalist Tom Bradby, who filmed the Sussex’s documentary in Africa, says there are a lot of hurt feelings involved with this situation. “There’ve been a lot of fallouts; a lot of harsh things were said around the time of the wedding,” he told People. “And it’s gone a bit too far. And certainly the rest of the family find Harry and Meghan very difficult and, from Harry and Meghan’s point of view, they’re just being driven out as they see it. And it’s sad.”

“There are going to be so many complications, so many controversies,” he continued. “There needs to be a peace deal really soon because this is so toxic, there’s so much anger and, to be honest with you at the moment it looks like it might get worse, not better.”

Bradby also gave some insight into why Markle and Harry’s announcement might have been released when it was. “Harry has been talking to his family for some weeks about all this,” he said. “And certainly as I understand it what happened is he was asked by members of his family—or at least their officials—to put some of these ideas in writing. He said, ‘I really don’t want to do that because it normally leaks.’ And they were very insistent in order to go forward and discuss it properly it had to be put in writing. He did put it in writing, and it did leak. So yes, I don’t think [the royal family] got much heads-up as to the actual announcement, but they certainly knew what was going on. I think [Harry] felt once it had been leaked all bets were off.”

He also explained that he thinks the duke and duchess have a philosophical approach to their future, but understand that they won’t necessarily have the final say in how this plays out. “They’re philosophical as in it’s up to [the royal family]—protection, Frogmore, everything else, the titles,” Bradby said. “You want to take it all away, fine. That’s okay. But it’s sort of up to you. We’d like to be involved, we’d like to do our charities, we’d like to support the Queen and we’d like to do stuff through the Commonwealth, but we accept that we’ve got no right to do that anymore.”

Needless to say, this is all very complicated. But reports say the queen wants a solution found quickly, so we may have some more answers about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s situation soon.





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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Are Stepping Down as ‘Senior’ Members of the Royal Family


In a bombshell announcement released Wednesday, January 8, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry revealed they] stepping down as “senior members” of the royal family.

“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,” the Sussexes wrote in an Instagram post.

They continued, “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.”

It’s unclear what this means, exactly, for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. But rumors that something like this was happening have been brewing for a while.

“It is true that Harry and Meghan will spend a fair amount of time in Canada over the next couple of months and possibly going forward too,” a source told the Sun this week. “Right now they are starting talks with their family about their plans for the future. Those conversations are at a very early stage. There is a very careful and serious process to go through, which they are going to respect. But it is clear they are on a different and unique path, and they are very much thinking about what the future looks like for them.”

The social media reactions to this news are coming in swift. Below, just a few of the best ones:

Royals expert Omid Scobie tweeted, “In 2020 Harry and Meghan will be changing how they work with the media, to ensure diverse and open access to their work.” He then listed what they specifically intend to do.

This story is still unfolding.



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Jasmine Guillory Writes Refreshingly Real Takes on Royal Romance


For Nicole Cliffe and Jasmine Guillory, it was love at first tweet. The Slate columnist and the romance novelist bonded over a love of the royals and similar social media sensibilities. Over time, their friendship progressed along a very 2019 trajectory—they went from Twitter DMs to text. Along with another friend, Samantha Powell, they formed a “Royals Group Chat,” where they dissect, celebrate, and challenge anything and everything related to the British Royal Family. (The group is so serious about their subject that they met up IRL for a weekend away to watch Meghan and Harry’s wedding.)

As Guillory began to research and write her latest novel, Royal Holiday—a Doria Ragland-inspired love story where a 50-something black woman falls for one of the Royal’s private secretaries—she called upon Cliffe and Powell for help. They brainstormed cottage names, swapped royal insight, and served as Guillory’s soundboard. So when Glamour asked Guillory to participate in our “Bodice Rippers,” series (an exploration of the $1 billion romance novel industry) we couldn’t think of anyone better to speak with her than Cliffe. Read on for their conversation about fully-formed heroines, royal research, and why so many romance novelists are lawyers.

Nicole Cliffe: Something I’ve always loved about your books is that your characters are such adults. They have jobs and friends and familial responsibilities, none of which they can just throw overboard when they meet a new romantic interest. In Royal Holiday, we get to enjoy a 50-something heroine. Why was it so important for you to portray women with rich, full lives?

Jasmine Guillory: I love writing slightly older characters, partly because they have more life experience to draw on, and partly because they’re more set in their ways. So it’s fun for me to see what and who will break them out of their patterns, and to see what they really care about. For me, the more well-rounded and complex a character is, the more interesting they are—and the more there is for someone to love about them. When I start writing a book, I usually start with one or two elements of each main character, but one of the things I think about a lot is what would make each character fall in love with someone, and so I add layers to each of them until I figure out why these two specific people would fall in love with each other. I loved writing Vivian, because she has a lot of life experience, but she’s also figured out a lot about what really matters in life, versus what she doesn’t need to bother worrying about. I need to take more lessons from her!



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