Prince Harry reportedly announced his decision to step back as a “senior” member of the royal family without the permission of Queen Elizabeth, multiple sites reported on Thursday.
Citing anonymous sources, the Evening Standard and CNN confirmed that the Duke of Sussex went ahead with the announcement that he and wife Meghan Markle would be stepping down, against the wishes of the queen.
It was clear that Buckingham Palace was left reeling from the news, as it put out its own, curt statement regarding the Sussexes’ departure, describing the situation as “complicated,” after Harry and Meghan first announced their news.
“Discussions with The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage,” the palace said Wednesday. “We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through.”
HuffPost has reached out to Buckingham Palace for further comment.
The Sussexes said in their initial statement that they reached the decision to step back “after many months of reflection and internal discussions.”
“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,” the duke and duchess said on their Instagram post revealing the news.
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But as BBC royals correspondent Jonny Dymond reported Wednesday, “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.’”
Citing an anonymous palace source, Dymond added that “that senior members of the Royal family feel ‘hurt’ by the announcement that Harry and Meghan are to withdraw from their current Royal roles.”
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