arry and Meghan will not be active members of the Royal Family again
Harry and Meghan now live in California
Prince Harry and his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, will no longer be active members of the royal family, meaning they will not have official commitments and responsibilities from members of British royalty, according to Buckingham Palace.
Queen Elizabeth confirmed that the couple will not continue "with the responsibilities and duties inherent in a life of public service", although they remain "very dear members of the family".
The couple said that "the service (they provide) is universal" and offered to continue supporting the organizations they represented as members of the royal family.
Harry and Meghan said last January that they would step down from their positions as "senior" royalty and had plans to become financially independent.
Confirmation of the resignation means that Prince Harry and Meghan will return their honorary military appointments and royal sponsorships, which will be redistributed to active members of the royal family.
In the deal made last year, the couple gave up using the titles of His Royal Highness, but Harry will retain the title of prince, because it is a title he received at birth.
Harry had been talking to other members of the royal family before confirming his resignation.
"The Queen confirmed that, departing from the work of the royal family, it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties inherent in a life of public service," said the statement from Buckingham Palace.
"Although everyone is saddened by the decision, the duke and duchess are still very dear members of the family."
A spokesman for Harry and Meghan said the two remained "committed to their duty and service to the UK and around the world" and that they offered their continued support to the organizations they represented, regardless of their official role.
The couple recently announced that they are expecting a second child
"We can all live a (public) service life. The service is universal," the statement said.
Entities thanked the couple
Several of the duke and duchess' former sponsors thanked the couple for their support after the announcement.
The Queen's Commonwealth Trust (philanthropic entity that sponsors youth projects in Commonwealth countries), founded in 2018 with Harry and Meghan as president and vice president, said it was "very lucky" to have had the couple's "great support and encouragement" in their formative years.
"We are happy that they remain in our circle of supporters," the fund said in a statement.
The Commonwealth university association said Meghan has been "a passionate advocate" of her mission to "build a better world through higher education" since taking on the role of patron in January 2019.
And the National Theater, another entity of which Meghan was a patron, said the duchess helped her effort with communities and young people in the UK to make the theater accessible to everyone.
Two Rugby leagues, the Rugby Football League and the Rugby Football Union also thanked Harry "for his time, care and commitment" in supporting organizations.
The Invictus Games Foundation, which organizes an international sporting event for wounded military personnel in action, said that Harry will remain a patron of the organization, which he helped to found.
The duke remains "fully committed" to the organization's events, the organization said in a statement.
"His military service and experience, combined with his genuine compassion and understanding for those serving his countries, has raised awareness of the wounded and sick veterans and the role they continue to play in society," he added.
Harry will also continue to work with the Veterans Charity Organization Walking With The Wounded.
Smart Works, a charity that helps women with clothes to do job interviews and training to work, and animal protection agency Mayhew will also continue to have Meghan as a supporter.
What do the ads mean?
According to the BBC's royal family correspondent Jonny Dymond, confirmation of the resignation could have been a formality, but the fact that two statements were made - both by the Queen and the couple - shows that there is still a certain amount of "bitterness" "in Harry and Meghan's relationship with the family.
"The palace statement establishes the queen's thinking; for her, the couple abandoned the life of public service. But the couple retorted, saying that they remain 'committed to duty and service' and that 'service', far from being a matter of titles and functions, 'it is universal' ", says Dymond.
The announcements come at a delicate moment, when the Duke of Edinburgh, Harry's grandfather and the queen's husband, is in the hospital.
So why make the announcement now? "A source said that the story was already common knowledge and would be in the newspapers by the weekend anyway. The suggestion is that each side is trying to run over the other with the ad," says Dymond.
Regarding titles, says Dymond, the loss of the title of Captain of the English Navy will be missed by Harry, for whom the military life was a great personality definer.
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