Last month, Buckingham Palace released a statement on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s status as royals, and it looks like their break from royal duties will be a permanent one.
The statement read, “The Queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of The Royal Family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service.
The honorary military appointments and Royal patronages held by The Duke and Duchess will therefore be returned to Her Majesty, before being redistributed among working members of The Royal Family. While all are saddened by their decision, The Duke and Duchess remain much loved members of the family.”
Although the Queen might have expected to have the last word, Prince Harry responded to the statement during a recent interview with James Corden.
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During his appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Harry explained their decision to take a step away from royal life: “We all know what the British press can be like and it was destroying my mental health.”
He explained, “I’m way more comfortable with The Crown than I am seeing the stories written about my family, or my wife or myself. They don’t pretend to be news — it’s fictional but it’s loosely based on the truth.”
He added that the UK tabloids went to another level of insensitive and cruel, making it “really difficult” for the couple and fostering a “toxic” environment.
“So I did what any husband and what any father would do, which is like, I need to get my family out of here,” Harry said.
However, Harry insists that it was more of a “stepping back” than “stepping down.”
He told Corden, “But we never walked away, and as far as I’m concerned, whatever decisions are made on that side, I will never walk away. I will always be contributing. My life is public service, so wherever I am in the world, it’s going to be the same thing.”
Although Harry’s words were hardly insulting of the royal family, some critics bashed the Prince for speaking out the same week the Queen had made a public announcement about the importance of getting the Covid-19 vaccine, saying that it defied protocol and did not show the proper deference to Her Majesty.