Read Queen Elizabeth Statement on Harry & Meghan Resigning

(Image credit: Getty Images / Sean Gallup)

published 8 January 2020

The Queen's office has responded to the bombshell news that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be resigning as senior members of the Royal Family.
The royal family were reportedly not notified, and they seem to be indicating their "disappointment" about the decision, as well as the fact that it's going to take time to sort everything through.

The Royal Family has officially just responded to the bombshell news that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are, in effect, resigning as senior members of the Royal Family. And by the looks of it, they are very unhappy.

The statement from the Queen's office reads, "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." It also just broke that no one in the Royal Family was consulted about the break and they are apparently "disappointed."

In other words, if I'm understanding correctly, 1) this is a massive shock, 2) they don't agree with it, and 3) this is going to be a big old mess to try and sift through. Reading into it a bit further, it's almost as though they're urging Harry and Meghan to have caution about what they're doing—like a "hold on, don't be too hasty, stop what you're doing" kind of thing.

In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, Harry and Meghan just released a bombshell announcement that read, in part, "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."

"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," they added.

Here's the statement from the Royal Family so you can see it for yourself:

Statement from the Queen’s office at Buckingham Palace: “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.”January 8, 2020

And here's the scoop from the BBC:

BREAKING. BBC Understands that no other member of the Royal Family was consulted before Harry and Meghan issued their personal statement tonight, the Palace is understood to be ‘disappointed’.January 8, 2020

Apparently they only knew the idea of this for a couple days:

NEW: Statement from Buckingham Palace. (Basically, they haven’t worked any of this stuff out yet.) pic.twitter.com/IGhGImAlYJJanuary 8, 2020

Wow. Just wow.

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Katherine’s a contributing syndications editor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle. In her role, she writes stories that are syndicated by MSN and other outlets. She’s been a full-time freelancer for over a decade and has had roles with Cosmopolitan (where she covered lifestyle, culture, and fashion SEO content) and Bustle (where she was their movies and culture writer). She has bylines in New York Times, Parents, InStyle, Refinery29, and elsewhere. Her work has also been syndicated by ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping, and Women’s Health, among others. In addition to her stories reaching millions of readers, content she's written and edited has qualified for a Bell Ringer Award and received a Communicator Award.

Katherine has a BA in English and art history from the University of Notre Dame and an MA in art business from the Sotheby's Institute of Art (with a focus on marketing/communications). She covers a wide breadth of topics: she's written about how to find the very best petite jeans, how sustainable travel has found its footing on Instagram, and what it's like to be a professional advice-giver in the modern world. Her personal essays have run the gamut from learning to dress as a queer woman to navigating food allergies as a mom. She also has deep knowledge of SEO/EATT, affiliate revenue, commerce, and social media; she regularly edits the work of other writers. She speaks at writing-related events and podcasts about freelancing and journalism, mentors students and other new writers, and consults on coursework. Currently, Katherine lives in Boston with her husband and two kids, and you can follow her on Instagram. If you're wondering about her last name, it’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.