Though Queen Elizabeth gave her public blessing to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in their decision to seek more independence from the royal family by splitting their time in North America, inside reports indicate something more tumultuous.
According to Us Weekly, royal insiders report that Prince Charles, Harry’s father, is “livid” over the announcement and blames Duchess Meghan Markle for the split. Given that the couple get 95% of their income from the Prince of Wales — $6.5 million — Prince Charles will now have to “decide to keep paying them or not,” said the insider source.
Despite the turmoil, neither Harry nor Meghan have shown any sign of backing down from their decision.
“They’re not having any second thoughts,” the insider said.
The reported plan now for Harry and Meghan will be to settle in Canada while keeping a vacation home in Los Angeles. They also hope to soon give baby Archie a sibling. As reported by The Daily Wire’s Amanda Prestigiacomo, Duchess Meghan wants to settle down in “progressive” California after Trump leaves office.
News of Prince Charles’ anger with the situation comes just days after Queen Elizabeth announced that she supports Harry and Meghan’s decision while still working to hammer out the details of their split — they plan to gain more financial independence while still keeping their royal titles, as they carve out a “progressive” role in the family.
“Today my family had very constructive discussions on the future of my grandson and his family,” the British monarch said on Monday. “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.”
The queen went on to say that there are “still issues to be resolved” before a final exit can be established.
“Harry and Meghan have made clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives,” continued the queen. “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.”
Though the queen expressed support in her statement, reports leading up to it told a different story, with royal insiders telling various media outlets that she was both disappointed and blindsided by the sudden decision. Steve Hilton, former senior adviser to former British Prime Minister David Cameron, said on Fox Nation’s “Deep Dive” that the queen’s statement is one of her most emotional.
“It feels like the most emotional words I’ve ever heard from the queen,” said Hilton. “It’s very interesting. It feels very personal in a way that I’ve never seen before.”