Despite the Duke and Duchess of Sussex catching the Queen off-guard earlier this week with their shocking decision to step back from official duties, Her Majesty is reportedly ready to cut a deal with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle that would allow them to keep receiving royal funding.
According to The Daily Express, neither the Queen nor Prince Charles is ready to cut Meghan and Harry out over their decision, and the Queen is said to have explicitly told Harry as much.
Senior aides from Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, and Kensington Palace reportedly held a series of meetings and conference calls this week in an attempt to reach some sort of agreement on the terms of Harry and Meghan's royal exit.
ADVERTISEMENT
A source told the Daily Express that “talks are progressing well and the governments are now involved,” referring to the U.K. and Canadian governments—which could reportedly spend millions to support the Sussexes in their move.
While the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are said to have left Buckingham Palace “disappointed” and “hurt” by their bombshell announcement this week, they are said to be eager to come up with a compromise.
“They, like everyone, are hopeful this can all be worked out, sooner rather than later. It is in everyone’s interest for this to be figured out, and figured out quickly—but not at the expense of the outcome,” a source told The Daily Express.
The Sussexes are said to have consulted no family members before announcing on Wednesday that they intended to step down from their current roles, become financially independent, and share their time between the U.K. and North America this coming year. As The Daily Beast reported earlier this week, the pair made the drastic decision largely because they felt “totally unwelcome” in the royal family, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The unexpected announcement, released shortly after the couple returned from a long holiday in Canada, reportedly prompted an emergency meeting and Buckingham Palace to announce that talks about the arrangements were in “an early stage.”
Following the bombshell, aides to the Queen, Harry, and his older brother Prince William were reportedly directed to come up with solutions “within days rather than weeks.”
Following a public appearance at London's Canada House with Prince Harry, Markle returned to Canada—where their son, Archie, remained throughout the week. The newspaper reports that the Duchess of Sussex will stay there for the foreseeable future, and Prince Harry will likely join her soon.
