In January 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, announced their desire to step down from their positions and discontinue their duties as senior royals. They also expressed their wish to become financially independent and start a new life as an ordinary family with their son, Archie.
This announcement generated global headlines and surprised millions of people. The Queen of England and Prince Harry's grandmother, Queen Elisabeth II, convened a summit of senior royals to discuss the couple's decision and they later announced to the press the Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will no longer be working royals and they would be stripped off of their titles.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision
After the couple's announcement, the countdown to their last day as royals began. On March 31, 2020, it will be the last day that we will see the faces of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as the representative of the county Sussex.
Because of this upcoming change, people on social media started creating theories about why the couple decided to leave their royal duties. One twitter user, Tamar Juda, said that people should pay attention to the date of their departure, as the couple will start their new lives on April 1 which is April Fool's Day.
There were also a lot of reports that circulated about Prince William bullying Prince Harry and Meghan and it made the couple decide to quit their royal connection. However, statements were done by the Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex and they both denied these allegations that are offensive and harmful.
Others also speculated that after the revelation of Prince Andrew's connection to the infamous Jeffrey Epstein, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not want to be associated with the "shady" relations of the royal family anymore.
While some said this decision may have happened after Meghan Markle's emotional interview where she opened up about her struggles and how the media unfairly treats her with numerous racial and derogatory comments, issues about her marriage and her pregnancy and the constant publication about her private family life.
A clip of her interview with reporter Tom Bradby was released by ITV. It was a part of ITV's documentary "Harry & Meghan: An African Journey." In the said interview, Meghan talked about the issues that she had to grapple as a wife, mother, and part of the royal family.
The real reason
On January 9, the couple took to Instagram about their decision to quit their royal duties. They said that they've reflected on their situation and they had internal discussions. The pair have chosen to make a transition in 2020 and they wanted to step back as senior members of the Royal Family and work in order to become financially independent.
To those who have been watching the royal couple, the announcement was not a surprise because the pair have been a target of negative media attention since they started dating. But a lot of people applauded their decision because it was an indication of independence and it was a progressive direction for the royal family.
