Queen Elizabeth II has presented Prince William with a new title following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s announcement that they are stepping down from their royal duties.
The monarch, 93, announced on Saturday, January 25, that William, 37, will be the new Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
The royal title will make William the Queen’s personal representative to the Church of Scotland, where he will carry out engagements and other ceremonial duties. Richard Scott, the 10th Duke of Buccleuch and 12th Duke of Queensberry, and Princess Anne have previously held the role.
William’s appointment comes weeks after Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, announced on January 8 that they would be stepping down from their royal duties. On January 18, Queen Elizabeth, William, Harry and Prince Charles came to an agreement, which stipulates that Harry and Meghan will no longer use their “Royal Highness” titles and that the pair are allowed to split their time between North America and the U.K. Harry and the Suits alum will also repay renovation costs for their Frogmore Cottage home in Windsor, England.
Despite their family members’ shocking announcement, William and Duchess Kate have continued to perform their royal duties. The couple hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace on behalf of Queen Elizabeth on Monday, January 20, where they appeared to be in good spirits. William and Kate, 38, were photographed smiling and laughing as they welcomed 21 African delegations to the palace for the start of the UK-Africa Investment Summit.
One day earlier, Harry opened up about his and Meghan’s decision to step away from the monarchy during a speech at a dinner for his Sentebal charity in London. Meghan, who is in Canada with the pair’s 8-month-old son Archie, was not in attendance.
“The decision I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly,” he said. “It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges and I know I haven’t always gotten it right but as far as this goes there really was no other option.”
William, for his part, hinted at his own feelings about his brother’s exit in a speech he delivered in West Yorkshire, England, on January 15.
“It’s sometimes trying to get people to understand that it’s OK to have these challenges,” he said. “We just need to deal with them and we need to move forward rather than just be stuck in paralysis and pretend they don’t happen.”
