Prince Harry and Meghan Markle step down as working members of British Royal Family

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have officially denounced their titles as members of The Royal Family, as announced by Buckingham Palace on Sunday, February 21.

In the statement, Prince Harry is being stripped of his honorary military titles, and both the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are being removed from their official royal patronages.

The Palace wrote, “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have confirmed to Her Majesty The Queen that they will not be returning as working members of The Royal Family.

“Following conversations with The Duke, The Queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of The Royal Family, it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service.

“The honorary military appointments and Royal patronages held by The Duke and Duchess will therefore be returned to Her Majesty before being redistributed among working members of The Royal Family.

“While all are saddened by their decision, The Duke and Duchess remain much-loved members of the family.”

In response, a spokesperson for the Sussexes said, “As evidenced by their work over the past year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the U.K. and around the world, and have offered their continued support to the organizations they have represented regardless of official role.

“We can live a life of service. Service is universal.”

Source says that the military, commonwealth, and charitable associations which will immediately revert to The Queen are the Royal Marines, The Royal Air Force, The Royal Navy, England Rugby, The Rugby Football League, The National Theatre, the Association of Commonwealth Universities, and the Queen's Commonwealth Trust.

Harry and Meghan are scheduled to have an intimate conversation with American talk show host Oprah Winfrey.

On February 16, CBS revealed that the Sussexes are to appear in the 90-minute show “Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special.”

There, Oprah will speak with Meghan in a wide-ranging interview, covering everything from “stepping into life as a royal, marriage, motherhood, philanthropic work to how she is handling life under intense public pressure.”

The two will then be joined by Prince Harry, where they will talk about moving to the United States and their hopes and dreams for their family.

Just last week, Meghan announced that she is expecting her second child with Prince Harry.