Posted: 10 January 2020 at 1:28pm | IP Logged | 6
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We are not mind readers, but we know Meghan cannot have married into the royal family without knowing there were expected responsibilities. And you're right that Harry is a 'big boy'. At 35, he should have made his mind up about this long ago. If he wanted out at 18 or 21 or even 25, I'd have plenty of sympathy.
However, making his mind up that he wants out after accepting the Dukedom of Sussex, after accepting the £300m in taxpayers money for his wedding, after accepting Frogmore cottage and refurbing it with public funds, seems a little like having his cake and eating it.
As does this notion of being a hybrid Royal. If they simply wanted entirely out, I can see how that's entirely their decision and they should be totally free to do it. But when they are inventing some new role for themselves, at a minimum, I would have expected them to have discussed this with the royal family first before announcing it publicly.
UK public funds are going to continue to stump up for their security and if they are choosing to live for long periods outside the UK, this seems especially problematic. Though they say they are giving up a whole 5% of their income by not accepting funds from the Sovereign Grant, I'm sceptical about how much other funding (which they receive from Duchy of Cornwall) they will give up. And I would guess they will leverage off their Royal position to generate personal profit, which also seems problematic (for example, they have submitted trademarks for hundreds of items under the brand 'Sussex Royal'. Once again, this seems like having their cake and eating it).
No one should be forced into palace life. At the same time, it's probably not a good idea to agree to enter into palace life and accept the perks that come with it if you don't want the strings that come attached.
Edited to correct a worrying number of typos...
Edited by Peter Martin on 10 January 2020 at 1:31pm
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