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Writer's pictureBethany-Jane Christian

Announcement from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex: 'Stepping back,' as, 'Senior,' Royals

On the evening of Wednesday 8th January 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex released a statement. This is the first of its kind, and although was not a complete surprise, it has sent some shock waves throughout the country, the commonwealth, and the world, not to mention the royal family themselves, or so we have been led to believe. In the future, we may look back and see what an excellent decision this was, and how well it has worked in this modern era. But it is causing some hurt and stinging. I can feel the couple are scared that they are going to be further hurt by the media, and indeed I am sure the memories of how the late Diana, Princess of Wales struggled is there in their hearts and minds. I offer my deepest sympathies to them. I agree with them that something needed to change. But this seems uncharacteristic of them, causing hurt and pain and breaking away like this. They always seemed full of empathy and kindness. On 9th January the couple released their own new website sussexroyal.com


The statement released by the Sussex’s said:

“After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution. 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. It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment. 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. This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity. 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. Until then, please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support.”


What surprised me about this statement is that only the day before the couple had made a public appearance, showing they were back in the UK, and working. The couple visited the Canadian High Commissioner in London, to thank him and all Canadians for the warm hospitality they received during their stay in Canada. The Sussex's said they would now focus on launching their own charitable foundation, as they returned to work. I had wondered during their 6 week sabbatical before and during Christmas, which they spent in a private house in Canada, whether they would majorly step back from royal duties. Furthermore, their disclosures during an ITV documentary of their official visit to Southern Africa during Autumn 2019, made me think that major and practical changes were coming. The couple said during the documentary that they were struggling with the scrutiny and invasion of the press and media, and Prince Harry did not deny a rift between him and his older brother William, saying they were on different paths. It was clear that they needed help, and I along with many other people felt sorry for the couple, that they were really struggling, and were vulnerable. However, I felt at the time that pushing the other members of the royal family away may not be a wise move, as the other royals are probably the only other people in the whole world who will truly be able to understand their position.


It saddens me that the couple appear to have made this decision to step back and change things without consulting other royals, and the Buckingham Palace press office. This was indicated by the response statement made by Buckingham Palace that said:

"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."


Since then, it is thought that the Queen has spoken to the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge, and has directed senior royal staff to work with the Sussex Household.

This isolation of the Sussex Household and their different way of doing things comes after they moved out of their first home at Kensington Palace to live away from the capital city, at Frogmore Cottage, Windsor. The couple have now disclosed that Frogmore was offered to them by the Queen as costing less to renovate than the available Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace. It is for this reason that the Sussex’s chose Frogmore Cottage to be their official residence in the UK. Their original residence at Nottingham Cottage, Kensington Palace was not big enough for their growing family. Frogmore was also available on time, just before the birth of their son Archie. At around the same time as the house move, the couple broke away from the Royal Foundation they shared with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, that oversaw their charitable work, and also created their own household with their own press office and staff, that operates from Buckingham Palace as opposed to Kensington Palace. A new instagram @sussexroyal saw the couple move away from sharing an instagram page with the Cambridge’s. The couple has shared a different approach in their work, being more politically outspoken and hands on, and has used their instagram in new ways, for example, focusing on different charitable themes each month. They did not have a public appearance with their baby son, instead, they organised a meeting with invited press, and releasing their own photos and information. Some of their ideas have been a huge success, as you can read about on this blog, and they have helped create ways of the British monarchy working in a modern 21st Century society. The couple have worked tirelessly for the Commonwealth, young people, vulnerable women, the arts, wounded and ex-servicemen and women, and mental health, amongst other causes.


But, the question is, how will their new approach work?

Financial Independence:

The Sussex’s say they want to become financially independent. At the moment, 5% of their income comes from the Sovereign Grant (from the government, from UK taxpayers). The rest comes mostly from the Prince of Wales, who supports himself, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Cambridge’s and Sussex’s from the Duchy of Cornwall estate that is run as a business to support the aforementioned royals financially, and give them independence. The Sussex’s are not allowed to earn money from jobs because they are supported by The Sovereign Grant, and therefore are expected to be full working members of the royal family. The Sussex’s wish to relinquish their money from the Sovereign Grant and earn money independently. Other royals who are not full time working members and do not receive money from the sovereign grant, such as Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, do have jobs. The question is, what jobs will the Sussex’s do? How will their status affect this?


Residence:

The Sussex’s wish to keep Frogmore Cottage as their UK residence, with the Queen’s permission, and split their time between the UK and North America. This will clock up airmiles. It also raises the question of the Duchess’s application for British Citizenship that is still underway, and how this will be affected. Personal fixtures and fittings of Frogmore Cottage in its recent renovations was paid for privately by the couple, with upkeep of the building paid for by the Sovereign Grant as part of the Queen’s role to maintain these buildings in trust for the Nation.


Security:

The Duke and Duchess will receive security from the Metropolitan Police as they always have done, maintained by the Home Office. It is not clear if this extends to time spent privately abroad.


Work:

The couple will continue to support the Queen, Royal Family, Country, Commonwealth and their patronages and charitable works. They will continue to represent the Queen overseas on official tours when asked too. But I think the time spent doing this will be reduced as they are not senior members anymore, and will need time to earn their independent financing.


Media:

The Duke and Duchess have said they wish to make changes to the way they share news with and engage with, the media. They have said their new approach will:

“Engage with grassroots media organisations and young, up-and-coming journalists;

Invite specialist media to specific events/engagements to give greater access to their cause-driven activities, widening the spectrum of news coverage;

Provide access to credible media outlets focused on objective news reporting to cover key moments and events;

Continue to share information directly to the wider public via their official communications channels;

No longer participate in the Royal Rota system.”


The Royal Rota System is the method by which certain UK publishers and broadcasting companies receive the rights to cover and share royal information. The Sussex’s explained it as, “Under this system, the rota, or pool, gives these British media representatives the opportunity to exclusively cover an event, on the understanding that they will share factual material obtained with other members of their sector who request it. The current system predates the dramatic transformation of news reporting in the digital age. The core group of UK outlets with Royal Rota access remain the predominant news source through which worldwide media organisations receive content on the official engagements of members of the Royal Family. These UK media outlets are: The Daily Express, The Daily Mail, The Daily Mirror, The Evening Standard, The Telegraph, The Times, The Sun. Historically, the understanding with the Royal Rota expects that if Their Royal Highnesses were to release a photo that has never been seen, they would be expected to give the image to The Rota (of which four of the seven are UK tabloids) simultaneously or in advance of their own release. This formula enables these select publications to profit by publishing these images on their websites/front pages. Any breach in this understanding creates long term repercussions.

The current structure makes it challenging for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex to personally share moments in their lives directly with members of the public (via social media for example), without first going through the filter of the Royal Rota.”

The couple state that with their decision to step back as senior royals, it seemed a good time to launch their new media approach. This approach will enable them to share information more freely with the public.


Titles and Line of Succession:

The couple have said nothing about renouncing their roles, or places in the line of succession. They are and will remain members of the Royal Family. They have made an application to trademark their relatively new brand name of Sussex Royal, across many things, including books, calendars, clothing, charitable fundraising, education and social care services.


Some say that the couple stepping back is healthy for the monarchy, creating a 21st-century-appropriate slimmed down monarchy. But I think, if the Sussex’s have ideas for how the monarchy can modernise and change, surely they should share that with the whole family and institution, and see if their ideas can be implemented more widely in a modernised monarchy that will greatly benefit the country, commonwealth, world, and charities. What upsets me is not their wish to change, and, ‘modernise,’ and try new approaches, but rather the way they have gone about it. It shows they feel they have to be separate, do things almost in secret, and isolate themselves. It seems like a war between them and the rest of the royals. Why has this happened? One cannot say for sure. They are clearly struggling, but I think they could have taken another approach. It is impossible to know all the details. But it seems like they don’t believe in the royal family or monarchy. But surely if they have ideas on positive changes, these should be shared across the family to make more impactful changes throughout the whole family and institution, not just in their work and household. Changes implemented more slowly over time would seem less like they have an element of spite, and more like they wish to make positive changes. I like many of their ideas, but not when they are carried out this way.


They are clearly desperate, to have not taken the time or energy to talk to or even notify the rest of the family, before the release of their statement, but at the end of the day I want them to be happy. But they have a responsibility. Did Meghan receive enough help as a new member of the royal family? We will never know what help was there. But I am sure the Queen, Prince of Wales, and Cambridge’s would love to help her and Harry sort things out in a mature and supportive way, as would their fans in the UK and Commonwealth, and across the world. We want what is best for them, but we also want them to understand they have a role, a job, and a responsibility, that will always require an element of sacrifice, something the Queen will testify to.


Parallels have been drawn, unfair ones I think, to the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson, notably as he stepped away from the throne and his family to marry an American divorcee, which is what Meghan was. But the Sussex’s do not want to step away completely, and have emphasised their commitment to the Queen and Commonwealth, and the charitable work. They are not leaving the UK permanently either.


To conclude, the truth is that nobody knows how this new approach will work out. It is very, very early days! Nothing like this has occurred before. So, the main thing to think is that we will simply have to wait and see.

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