Last night, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shocked the world - and the royal family - with news that they plan to step down as senior royals and become financially independent.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also revealed in their lengthy Instagram statement that they plan to divide their time "between the United Kingdom and North America" so that they can raise their young son, Archie "with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter".
The announcement comes after the Sussexes took a six-week break from royal duties following a very tumultuous year. The couple's relationship with the press took a hammering, as they felt the media overstepped the mark in regards to privacy and relentless criticism. It all culminated in a lawsuit against one major paper, and a very telling interview in which Meghan Markle revealed she "never thought that this would be easy... but I thought that it would be fair."
Considering all that, it makes complete sense why Meghan and Harry would want to withdraw from their prominent roles, and the constant limelight this requires. But that may not be the only reason they've made such a groundbreaking decision.
ITV News' Royal Editor Chris Ship pointed out on Twitter that the future of the royal family may also have been a big factor in the couple's choice to do their own thing. On the social network, he wrote: "The Sussexes could see the direction of travel. The slimmed down Monarchy didn’t include them. And they needed to find an alternative route."
Talk of a 'slimmed-down monarchy' has been rife for some time, especially in the wake of all that Prince Andrew drama. Buckingham Palace fuelled it themselves when Queen Elizabeth conducted her annual Christmastime Queen's Speech surrounded by pictures of her father, husband, and immediate heirs - but not Meghan and Harry. Then, there was the official portrait that was released to celebrate the start of a new decade, featuring the Queen alongside Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince George: the next three kings and the future of the royal family.
In just 10 years' time, Prince William and Kate Middleton's children will be teenagers, with their own individual media storms following them everywhere they go. They'll eventually become royal entities in their own right, and there will simply be less need for so many senior, full-time working royals. So there's every chance that the Sussexes have seen this coming, and taken the opportunity to swerve at a time that's right for them.
Meghan and Harry's move is a bold one, and if it's right for them, then who is anyone outside of the royal family to criticise them? Apart from the fact that maybe they could have given the Queen a *teensy* bit more warning they were dropping a bombshell like that in public...
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