Full speed ahead. Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan are staying the course following their announcement to step back from their “senior” royal duties on Wednesday, January 8.
“They’re feeling confident,” a friend of the couple told Harper’s Bazaar on Thursday, January 9, in regards to their decision to shake things up in 2020, which includes splitting their time between the U.K. and North America.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex know that not everyone will agree with their plans, but their family, and son, Archie, come first.
“Harry and Meghan are aware that they’ll be criticized, perhaps even vilified, for taking control of their lives,” the source told the publication on Thursday. “But creating a positive future for themselves and their family has always been their priority.”
According to the magazine, Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, are set to return to Victoria, Canada, on Thursday evening, where they spent their holiday hiatus and 7-month-old son’s first Christmas. Archie reportedly stayed back with Meghan’s best friend Jessica Mulroney and a nanny while they sorted out their duties in England.
The couple caused a major whirlwind when they announced their new plans on Wednesday.
“We have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution,” the joint statement published via Instagram read. “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.”
The statement continued by sharing the pair’s plans to “balance our time” between their respective home countries while still “continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages.”
One of the biggest gripes the royal family has had with the release of the statement is that it didn’t follow protocol.
“Harry and Meghan made their statement without the official blessing of the queen,” a source told Us Weekly exclusively on Thursday. “It’s not that they didn’t care — it was a miscommunication.”
Buckingham Palace, headed by Queen Elizabeth II, responded to the duo’s statement with one of their own on Wednesday, revealing that they were still in “early stages” of discussions with the duke and duchess.
“We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through,” the statement read.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams previously told Us that “the other royals didn’t know of the statement. This really is extraordinary. It’s totally irresponsible.”
