The Queen is said to be “deeply disappointed” by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s to decision to publicly announce they are stepping down from royal duties without Her Majesty’s prior knowledge.
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The couple made the announcement via their Instagram account on Wednesday evening that they have made the decision to split their time between Britain and North America and will be stepping down from their “senior royal” roles.
A senior royal source said the Queen and her family were ‘deeply disappointed’. Another said the royals were ‘shocked, saddened and downright furious’ at the couple, reports the Daily Mail.
In a tellingly curt statement, Buckingham Palace responded to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s statement by saying: “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.”
The Mail’s sources claim that the shock announcement was a personal statement and “members of the family were not consulted on the contents”.
“People had bent over backwards for them. They were given the wedding they wanted, the house they wanted, the office they wanted, the money they wanted, the staff they wanted, the tours they wanted and had the backing of their family. What more did they want?”
Another royal source said: “It’s deeply unfair to the Queen who doesn’t deserve to be treated this way. It is a shoddy way to treat her. The family understands that they want to do something different and is perfectly willing to help them. People are just devastated.”
According to the publication, Harry and Meghan ‘secretly plotted’ their decision during their stay in Canada, even conspiring to create a new website independent of the Royal Family and ready to launch it when they returned. This was without the knowledge of their own loyal UK-based press team.
‘The level of deceit has been staggering and everyone from the top of the royal household to the bottom feels like they have been stabbed in the back,’ one source said.
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