It has been a week of public and private turmoil this week for the Royal Household as Prince Harry and his wife Meghan released a statement announcing that they wished to ‘step back’ from their senior roles within the Royal family and seek ‘financial independence’ alongside that. This came as a blow to the Queen who apparently had no idea this coming and only found out about it about 10 minutes before it was released. It would definitely be considered a time for Crisis Management! According to a recent YouGov poll, Prince Harry is Britain’s 2nd favourite Royal, the Queen coming in first place (naturally!). He is a young, passionate and driven member of the Royal family who the Queen sees as integral to its future and riding this confusing storm is critical.
How has the Queen and the Royal family handled this crisis?
Very well so far. Initially Buckingham Palace released a short statement acknowledging Harry and Meghan’s wishes and said there were ‘complicated issues to work though”. Today the Queen held crisis talks at Sandringham with Prince Harry, Prince William and Prince Charles. She released a very personal statement once the talks were over, addressing Harry and Meghan just by their first names rather than with titles – which is not usual protocol – highlighting how much they were still part of her family and giving her blessing that they wanted to live more independently:
“Today my family had very constructive discussions on the future of my grandson and his family.
“My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family. Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family.
“Harry and Meghan have made clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives.
“It has therefore been agreed that there will be a period of transition in which the Sussexes will spend time in Canada and the UK.
“These are complex matters for my family to resolve, and there is some more work to be done, but I have asked for final decisions to be reached in the coming days.”
What does this all mean?
The personal tone could be a way of emphasising how they are family to her – or it could be a hint that they are to lose their title. In our opinion it is more to put across a personal tone and give Harry and Meghan a bit of reassurance that things are ok with them and they Royal family. The statement reassures the public that there are no huge fall outs and that there is unity within the Royal family – which is critical to them, particularly after recent events with Prince Andrew – the Queen wants to really quash any bad publicity immediately.
What happens next?
It will be really interesting to observe over the coming days and weeks how the Royal family navigate this developing situation – it is unprecedented and could really damage their brand. There has been so much discussion in the press about it from many angles. Some people are not at all bothered whereas others seem personally hurt that Harry and Meghan are choosing to ‘go their own way’. There were some comments from military figures who felt Harry was ‘abandoning’ them by stepping down from full time Royal service and on the other hand leading charity workers who supported their wish for a more private life. So there is an element of division among the British public on this issue, and this is another pressing reason why the Queen must tread very carefully in her actions of course. She will not want any further divisions to come from this situation.
Megxit?
The Sun has coined it ‘Megxit’ which sure is catchy but will probably not go down well with the Royal family. Also, when a catchphrase like that comes out of an event like this, it will be very hard (if not impossible in this case) to shake off. The best possible outcome is a quick solution that solves each individual issue and concern with a public statement from all sides to conclude matters. The publicity from this will last weeks and discussion on and offline will also continue – so a swift conclusion that is pleasing to all will be what the Royal family will be seeking as soon as possible.
We will watch and wait and see what happens next!