Royals today, commoners tomorrow that is probably apt to describe the status of Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan.
The two with the support of Buckingham Palace have found a middle ground but at a cost to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
In one of the boldest moves in the history of the British Monarchy, the BBC quoting a statement from the Palace reports that Prince Harry and Meghan will no longer use His/Her Royal Highness (HRH) titles and will not receive public funds for royal duties.
The couple is also stepping back from The Queen’s assignments.
That is not all. They will also cough up £2.4m of taxpayer money for the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage, which will remain their UK family home.
The new arrangement comes into effect in spring this year, the Palace said. Spring in the United Kingdom is from March to May.
Earlier this month, Prince Harry and Meghan shook the British Monarchy with a decision to delete their names from the duty roster as senior members of the royal family.
They also want to split their time in between the United Kingdom and North America— which is now looking more like Canada.
After a series of meetings, it appears The Queen had her say but the couple had their way.
A statement from the Queen said following “many months of conversations and more recent discussions” she was “pleased that together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family”.
“Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much-loved members of my family,” the statement continued.
“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 the family.
“It is my whole family’s hope that today’s agreement allows them to start building a happy and peaceful new life.”
Prince Harry and Meghan, a former actress married in 2018, in a widely broadcast ceremony.
The 35-year old Harry is the sixth in line to the British throne that his father—Prince Charles— is the heir apparent.
Although Prince Harry has spent almost his entire life in the public eye while his wife, in the past, earned her keep standing before cameras, it appears the media scrutiny after the two tied the knot is unnerving for them.
In October last year, the Duchess sued a tabloid newspaper, Mail on Sunday, that she claims illegally published a personal letter she wrote to her father.
Prince Harry is unforgiving of the role the media played in her mother’s death. Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris in 1997 while being chased by photographers.
“Every time I see a camera, every time I hear a click, every time I see a flash, it takes me straight back,” he was quoted as saying in “Harry & Meghan: An African Journey,” a documentary of their time in Africa, the New York Times reported.
The CNBN reported that the civil lawsuit accuses the newspaper of copyright infringement, misuse of private information and violating the U.K” s data protection law with the “intrusive” publication of the letter.
It was a moment that got Prince Harry furious as he unloaded years of bottled-in anger on the British tabloid.
He accused the Mail on Sunday of editing the letter in “an intentionally destructive manner” to “manipulate” readers with an unflattering portrayal of his wife, who was the American actress known as Meghan Markle before the couple married in May 2018.
In the UK, tabloids have an insatiable appetite for tales about the British royals who are treated as a captivating national melodrama.