LONDON — Buckingham Palace’s announcement that Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, will no longer use their “royal highness” titles or receive public funds for royal duties appears to have split opinion in the U.K.
With the agreement of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and Prince William, the pair will be allowed to step back from royal duties and Prince Harry will no longer be required for official military appointments. The pair will also no longer be funded by the British taxpayer. However, the couple will be allowed to continue to maintain their private patronages and associations.
The agreement has polarized opinion among British commentators.
“Comparisons are being made to the abdication crisis of 1936, but, of course, Prince Harry was not a future king necessarily,” NBC News royal contributor Camilla Tominey said Sunday, referring to the abdication of King Edward VIII to marry his American lover, Wallis Simpson.
“This separation of powers, this divorce, if you like, from the royal family is unprecedented in the modern era,” she said, adding:
“In her statement last night, the Queen, like her subjects, concluded that this was not a situation where Harry and Meghan would be able to have their cake and eat it, to be half in and half out. It was basically a case of all or nothing, and clearly the Queen and the monarchy chose the latter.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/harry-meghan-s-new-royal-arrangement-splits-opinion-u-k-n1118516