#brf split

To The Supreme God (or “To Universal Energies of Good” if you are agnostic, or to name the person to whom you pray, if you are religious, or have a particular spiritual practice), Please bless and protect Prince William and his family Catherine (or Kate), George, Charlotte, and Louis. (Name other members of the royal family as you see fit.) Please bless them with wisdom, mental and emotional strength and resilience. Protect them against all negative thoughts, negative energies, psychic attacks, gossip and slander. Please bless Prince William with clarity of thought and the strength to deal with challenges, from a place of wisdom, strength, confidence and calm. Please bless all of the royal family members involved in the Monday meeting and thereafter, to reach a solution that is best for the royal family and successive generations, from a place of peace and harmony. Thank you, thank you, thank you, and in full faith. Note: You may fold your hands in prayer if you wish, or simply say a prayer without any gestures. If you like, you may hold your hands up near your heart chakra in blessing, with the palms facing outward, like so. (Imagine William and others in front of you instead of the world in the photo.) Lower your hands once you are done with the prayer. And you’re done. 😊

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10821737/prince-harry-and-meghan-were-offered-the-freedom-to-live-without-duke-and-duchess-titles-before-23m-royal-wedding/

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And having talked to insiders on both sides, I can reveal the most ­comprehensive account of the ‘Megxit’ saga so far. I use the word Megxit with some apprehension.

For while Meghan was the catalyst in Harry’s decision to walk away, this was very much his decision, too.

Which is why it has hurt – really hurt – Harry’s family, particularly the Queen, so deeply.

Both she and Harry’s father, the Prince of Wales, were delighted when Harry met Meghan in the summer of 2016 and quickly decided he wanted to share his life with her.

She was bright, beautiful, independent, and as a hard-working career woman, it was hoped she would ground the insecure Harry who had never found his footing since leaving the army.

But this relationship wouldn’t be plain sailing. It is a deeply unpopular view with Meghan’s supporters – her critics are accused of racism or misogyny – but she was difficult and demanding with staff.

And suddenly the same was being said of a newly emboldened and humourless Harry.

Behaviour that was acceptable in Hollywood did not go down well in a ‘Firm’ that revolves around a certain CEO.

One of the earliest signs that Meghan was determined to do it her way occurred when the Queen invited her to Chester after her wedding in June 2018. The Queen’s powerful personal assistant, Angela Kelly, sent a ­message that Her Majesty would be wearing a hat – polite Palace code for ‘you should be wearing one too’.

The message came back that Meghan preferred to go bareheaded.

The new duchess was clearly unwilling to acquiesce. Harry declared in the run-up to their wedding that ‘what Meghan wants, Meghan gets’ after a row about tiaras. But most assumed it would calm down.

It didn’t.

There were tales of screaming at staff, demands about homes, ­retinue and clothing allowances.

As one aggrieved royal insider told me: ‘People had bent over backwards. They were given the wedding they wanted, house they wanted, office they wanted, the money they wanted, staff they wanted, tours they wanted and had the backing of their family. What more did they want?’

Then, of course, William and Harry spectacularly fell out.

William, I am told, felt uncomfortable with his brother’s new ‘showbiz’ lifestyle. He felt Harry was rushing things with a woman he barely knew.

Harry accused his elder ‘bro’ of being ‘unsupportive’, while Meghan said Kate was ‘cold’ and ‘uninterested’ in her.

The ­relationship has become so strained that William and Kate’s children have only seen their new cousin, Archie, twice.

Of course Harry and Meghan, united against a family they felt didn’t understand them, saw it differently.

One source told me: ‘They felt that the institution only wanted to trot them out to exploit their popularity when convenient. Otherwise it wanted to constrain because it was jealous and threatened by their popularity.’

When they left for a holiday in Canada last autumn, there were just a couple of royal tours in the offing – including Mongolia and South Korea.

They felt the family just couldn’t handle them. They felt trapped and believed senior Establishment figures, including William, were trying to derail them,’ another insider reveals.

Of course, the rest of the family say this is patently untrue.

‘Those working for the Queen would have being doing the institution of the monarchy a disservice in not standing up to them.

‘The monarchy has strict guidelines about what members of the Royal Family can do, particularly commercially, and how public money is spent. As the Queen knows, if you are a public figure on the public purse, then you have limits and responsibilities. Saying no is being responsible to the British taxpayer, not reactionary.’

Harry and Meghan were increasingly unhappy. In October, while touring Africa, they complained about press and public criticism. It was then senior members of the Royal Family decided something needed to give.

The couple’s ­emotional interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby only reinforced that view.

Many felt Bradby had taken advantage of Harry’s ‘clear vulnerability’.

So when in mid-November Harry and Meghan decided on that six week family break in Canada – that’s what they told the Queen – she gave her blessing.

Unknown to anyone, the couple had in fact been ‘plotting’ a life outside of Britain.

They had assembled a team of US advisers and managers, many of whom had worked with Meghan as an actress.

They also employed the Canadian website designer responsible for her popular pre-marriage lifestyle blog to create the ‘Sussex Royal’ website to provide them with a window shop to the world.

Ensconced in that £10million ­Vancouver Island mansion, ­surrounded by Meghan’s friends, such as the Canadian TV presenter Jessica Mulroney, the couple ­developed a siege mentality.

Shortly before they came back to London in early January, Harry contacted his grandmother and father by email to tell them he and Meghan wanted out.

Both the Queen and Charles urged him not to rush into anything.

One family source tells me: ‘They understood that he and Meghan wanted something different and were willing to help but it was complicated.

‘There were issues like security and funding, visas and tax, which neither of them had thought through. Harry was told to put his request in writing and come up with some ideas.

‘He thought his family were stonewalling and decided to push the nuclear button.’

Back in the UK, Harry summoned his senior staff to meet the couple at Frogmore Cottage and told them their plans.

They begged him not to go public and warned him that putting all his cards on the table was a dangerous strategy.

‘They didn’t even have clue what the term financially independent meant,’ snorts one insider.

‘Unfortunately he was just too stubborn, blinkered and bitter to see sense.’ He believed he was being forced to play second fiddle to William when it was he – and Meghan – who had the star power.

‘Yet his father had always made clear that while he favours a slimmed down monarchy, Harry and his family would be a significant part of that,’ my source said.

Egged on by Meghan, he released his bombshell statement without telling the Queen first.

One courtier revealed: ‘Her Majesty was shocked. People were angry the Queen had been so disrespected.’

Conference calls were held between the various royal residences. One source told me at the time: ‘They have bombed their way to the table but there’s still a desire to find a solution. The Queen knows she has to sort it.’

Charles was united with his mother in their resolve.

Harry and Meghan could not be allowed to exploit their status commercially and their plans for a ‘half in, half out’ approach was unacceptable. Harry was devastated to lose his military and Commonwealth roles, but his biggest frustration was being ordered to walk away from their Sussex Royal brand.

‘They were obsessed that this was punitive and spiteful. They couldn’t see that the Queen had no choice,’ I am told.

In the end, the Sussexes capitulated and walked away to start their new life.

One source close to Meghan told me that people needed to understand that marrying into the Royal Family hadn’t been easy for her.

‘She grossly misjudged how culturally different the UK is from America. And then you add to that the protocol...,’ they said.

‘To be fair, she didn’t really have any girlfriends to say to her ‘‘if you don’t wear a hat when you are with the Queen, you are going to mess this up’’. She didn’t understand how bad it was to get something as ­simple as that so wrong.

‘Harry didn’t know how to handle the situation. He would often go into see his private secretary, Samantha Cohen, begging her to help. It was a bit of a mess.’

Another senior royal source told me Meghan had issued her husband with a stark ultimatum: Archie and me are your family.

‘Harry had been hopeful of finding a way to marry his desire for more freedom with his royal heritage, but Meghan convinced him there was no other option, She forced him to choose. He has spent three months convincing himself he has done the right thing.’

Okay, but there the word “royal” is as much royal as the word “duchess”  when used by the lead singer of black eyed peas. But even she has the decency to spell it “Dutchess”, ackowledging the fauxness of it. 

Moreover, when you are/were a real royal, but are being barred from using the title to profit off it, to use a loophole to force the use of the term “royal” in the faux sense, is embarassing on a whole other level. 

SPRING 2020 TRANSITION

We are pleased to now be able to share with you an update on many of the details agreed at a meeting of The Royal Family in January 2020, which outlines The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s new roles, taking effect Spring 2020. We had hoped to be allowed to share these details with you sooner (to mitigate any confusion and subsequent misreporting), but the facts below should help provide some clarification around this transition and the steps for the future.

AS AGREED AND SET OUT IN JANUARY 2020:

It is agreed that the commencement of the revised role of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will take effect Spring 2020 and undergo a 12 month review.

The Royal Family respect and understand the wish of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex to live a more independent life as a family, by removing the supposed ‘public interest’ justification for media intrusion into their lives. They remain a valued part of Her Majesty’s family.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will become privately funded members of The Royal Family with permission to earn their own income and the ability to pursue their own private charitable interests.

The preference of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex was to continue to represent and support Her Majesty The Queen albeit in a more limited capacity, while not drawing on the Sovereign Grant.

While there is precedent for other titled members of the Royal Family to seek employment outside of the institution, for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, a 12-month review period has been put in place.

Per the agreement The Duke and Duchess of Sussex understand that they are required to step back from Royal duties and not undertake representative duties on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen.

As agreed and set out in January, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will retain their “HRH” prefix, thereby formally remaining known as His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will no longer actively use their HRH titles as they will no longer be working members of the family as of Spring 2020.

As the grandson of Her Majesty and second son of The Prince of Wales, Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex remains sixth in line to the throne of The British Monarchy and the Order of Precedence is unchanged.

It was agreed that The Duke and Duchess will no longer be able to formally carry out ‘official duties’ for The Queen or represent The Commonwealth, but they will, however, be allowed to maintain their patronages (including those that are classified as ‘royal’ patronages).

It is agreed that The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will continue to require effective security to protect them and their son.  This is based on The Duke’s public profile by virtue of being born into The Royal Family, his military service, the Duchess’ own independent profile, and the shared threat and risk level documented specifically over the last few years. No further details can be shared as this is classified information for safety reasons.

In relation to the military, The Duke of Sussex will retain the rank of Major, and honorary ranks of Lieutenant Commander, and Squadron Leader. During this 12-month period of review, The Duke’s official military appointments will not be used as they are in the gift of the Sovereign. No new appointments will be made to fill these roles before the 12-month review of the new arrangements is completed.

While per the agreement, The Duke will not perform any official duties associated with these roles, given his dedication to the military community and ten years of service he will of course continue his unwavering support to the military community in a non-official capacity. As founder of the Invictus Games, The Duke will proudly continue supporting the military community around the world through the Invictus Games Foundation and The Endeavour Fund.

Based on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s desire to have a reduced role as members of The Royal Family, it was decided in January that their Institutional Office would have to be closed, given the primary funding mechanism for this official office at Buckingham Palace is from HRH The Prince of Wales. The Duke and Duchess shared this news with their team personally in January once they knew of the decision, and have worked closely with their staff to ensure a smooth transition for each of them.

Over the last month and a half, The Duke and Duchess have remained actively involved in this process, which has understandably been saddening for The Duke and Duchess and their loyal staff, given the closeness of Their Royal Highnesses and their dedicated team.

As The Duke and Duchess will no longer be considered full-time working Members of The Royal Family, it was agreed that use of the word ‘Royal’ would need to be reviewed as it pertains to organisations associated with them in this new regard. More details on this below.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS:

As shared in early January on this website, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not plan to start a ‘foundation’, but rather intend to develop a new way to effect change and complement the efforts made by so many excellent foundations globally.

The creation of this non-profit entity will be in addition to their cause driven work that they remain deeply committed to. While The Duke and Duchess are focused on plans to establish a new non-profit organisation, given the specific UK government rules surrounding use of the word ‘Royal’, it has been therefore agreed that their non-profit organisation will not utilise the name ‘Sussex Royal’ or any other iteration of ‘Royal.’

For the above reason, the trademark applications that had been filed as protective measures and that reflected the same standard trademarking requests as done for The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have been removed.

While there is not any jurisdiction by The Monarchy or Cabinet Office over the use of the word ‘Royal’ overseas, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not intend to use ‘Sussex Royal’ or any iteration of the word ‘Royal’ in any territory (either within the UK or otherwise) when the transition occurs Spring 2020.

As The Duke and Duchess of Sussex continue to develop their non-profit organisation and plan for their future, we hope that you use this site as the source for factual information. In Spring 2020, their digital channels will be refreshed as they introduce the next exciting phase to you.