This is bbc world news today. Im Lewis Vaughan jones. Our top story. The queen says prince harry and meghan will no longer use their royal titles as they step down as working royals. The couple will pay back more than 2. 4 Million Pounds of public money spent on refurbishing their residence Frogmore Cottage in windsor. They will also stop receivng public funding for royal duties, and harry will resign from his official military appointments. Hello and welcome to world news today. Prince harry and meghan will no longer use their royal titles, and will no longer recieve public funds to carry out royal duties. This has been confirmed by Buckingham Palace. In a statement her majesty the queen said. Harry, meghan and archie will always be much loved members of my family. Our royal correspondent Daniela Relph has more from Buckingham Palace. Hugely significant. It is taking the past week or so to really drill down how this is going to work and there have been various meetings going on at the highest levels of government in the royal family to come up with this plan for them Going Forward. It isa this plan for them Going Forward. It is a significant moment, there stepping away from being senior working members of the British Royal family and there stepping away with a great deal of regret on behalf of the queen in particular, in terms of not being able to use them to their
full potential in terms of real working life and yes, there is a sort of pragmatism here Buckingham Palace about moving forward and trying to make this new plan work for harry and meghan, but also a great deal of regret that they have found themselves in a position where they have chosen to step away from public royal life. Let us go to some of the practicalities now that have been addressed. , we will go to the matters that have not been, but as for the one met once that have been. Paying back the money for the house, that will remainder uk home. That is right. It is quite a substantial house, where Windsor Castle is placed, they have a house securely in the grounds there, that will remain theirfamily in the grounds there, that will remain their family home, in the grounds there, that will remain theirfamily home, as in the grounds there, that will remain their family home, as you say. But when it was decided that harry and meghan were going to live there in the queen gifted in the
property, it was a five set apartment for staffer can get Windsor Castle, so it had to be reconfigured and various amount of Building Work was done in about 3 million of uk public money was spent trying to get that work done. That would not be repaid by harry and meghan in the statement suggested was their wish to do so, that is what they wanted to do. And theyll be paid back, but it still remains thatis be paid back, but it still remains that is what they wanted to do. Theyll be paid back, but it still remains the uk home, but having said that, they will spending most of their time that, they will spending most of theirtime in that, they will spending most of their time in north america. What exactly a re their time in north america. What exactly are they going to be doing there . What they will not be receiving public funds for any real work, how they earn money now . This is been a tricky and thorny issue in all of this and where there is been real gaps in terms of the information we have. And i suspect some of it has not been worked through. Theres not going to be any
strict guidelines for the commercial work that harry and megan are now would have to undertake to avoid the kind of lifestyle that they want to lead. There will be no rules and regulations but all we have been told is that they will take work, ta ke told is that they will take work, take contracts that will support the values of their majesty, the queen. It is not at all clear, but they definitely only do stuff that is in the spirit that the queen with support. A very british at the moment in terms of how that will work and what they will do, but clearly the queen us decided to give them the freedom to do this kind of commercial work to take on a brand, meghan may do some acting related work but to pursue that with a strict oversight from the uk but having said that, in a years time, this whole programme is going to be reviewed by the queen, the prince of
wales, harrys father and they will all get together, look at how it is work over the past year and see if its the right thing to continue doing and the work that they do in order to earn money, because theyre not going be getting any public money but the only caveat being that they have to uphold the values of they have to uphold the values of the queen. Daniela can you clear this up, the hrh title, what does it stand for . And are they being stripped of it . Hrh, his Royal Highness, her Royal Highness, when you become a working member of the realfamily youre you become a working member of the real family youre given this title. Because theyre not going be working members of the royal family, because theyre not going be working members of the royalfamily, theyre having the hrh status taken away. They will not be able to use them publicly. They will still be hrh in private if they want to use it, but publicly, his or her Royal Highness,
harry remains a prince, there remained the duke and duchess of sussex, all of those titles are still implants to release publicly. So they will carry on through that and there were many members of the British Royalfamily, and there were many members of the British Royal family, they just and there were many members of the British Royalfamily, theyjust will not be working members of the British Royal family. Not be working members of the British Royalfamily. Really important to get that detail right. To get onto the reaction. I know you have been speaking to officials in Buckingham Palace behind you just there. What is the feeling come over very warm words from the statement from her majesty the queen. What do you make of the language that she used . I think it is absolutely fascinating. We had a statement on monday with a big family meeting and a statement again on behalf of the queen, her own words being used in the kind of information statement is being given and it really seemed like the wording of late worried grandmother trying to fix a problem and her family. It
grandmother trying to fix a problem and herfamily. It does not really read like a monarch making a formal Public Statement which is what we are used to seeing. The tone, the mood, the wording it is very different. She talks about harry, megan and archie being much loved and talks about meghan, proud of the way meghan is fit into the royal family and Going Forward, she hopes that these changes are being made to their lives will ensure that they have a happy and peaceful life Going Forward and the queen being quite pragmatic in terms of finding a solution but you can also since her regret and wanting to fix things for harry and meghan. Give us an idea on how you came about this news. People are always fascinated, especially when the royal family about how these things, there is a formality and the information flow which is so
tightly controlled. What happened just a couple of hours ago . A couple of hours ago when there was this meeting, we were told that the queen was very keen for this business to be resolved as quickly as possible and not have it hanging over the royal family. It is and not have it hanging over the royalfamily. It is pretty and not have it hanging over the royal family. It is pretty clear that the next five or six days, there was lots of discussion over staff your Buckingham Palace, the private secretary, the press secretary, but also with government in the uk with the foreign office, the home office, with the metropolitan Police Providing protection to the royal family. There has been a whole raft of discussions going on. Are expected to have a statement yesterday but today, we had a briefing over the telephone, a Conference Call with the Senior Communications officer for senior members of the royal family, the queen, the duke of cambridge, harry and meghan, they explained was behind the statements that you been reading out how we got to this place about the discussions
that have been going on in the numbers of questions that have been brought forward, we just do not have the answers to. But we will bill to make public for an hour or so. Be able to. We were allowed to go public with the details. Able to. We were allowed to go public with the detailslj able to. We were allowed to go public with the details. I want to go on to some the things that were not in the statement and i know you will not be able to give us detail on the answers, but this talk is there some the issues understood to be resolved and im thinking about things like tax immigration status, all of that kind of stuff. Security is probably the most obvious one, who is going to pay for their personal security when they are living in canada . That is just not clear. Justin trudeau, the canadian Prime Minister was quite cautious about what happened early in the week, discussions are going to be had over that. Today, we are told its just not going to be discussed. It isa its just not going to be discussed. It is a private matter, a private issue, not for a public forum and not take that any further. And how that will be paid for and how that will practically work when they are no longer living here in the uk and all the protection that comes with the metropolitan police, tax immigration residency, what sort of different stages will be made for them, if you just decide to live there, immigration issues, tax issues, the details of that, itjust doesnt seem to be properly decided upon at the moment, but the question was asked to the staff about the british citizenship. When they were engaged in the plans are going up for the wedding, we were told that she was in the process of applying to become a british citizen. Is that still going on, wejust do not know. It would seem to be difficult to see how they could continue because
shes going to be spending most of her year living in north america and residency in the uk to be changed, does not plan to becoming a british citizen but a number of different issues to be sorted out, but security is a big one. Just one final point. Given your knowledge of the royalfamily, final point. Given your knowledge of the royal family, how final point. Given your knowledge of the royalfamily, how do final point. Given your knowledge of the royal family, how do you think harry and meghan will be feeling now . Think they will feel satisfied that this is what they want in this the arrangement that they wanted . Yes, i think they will. My sense is that harry and meghan will probably feel incredibly relieved at what is happening here in the kind of freedom that they have been given to pursue the kind of lives that they wa nt pursue the kind of lives that they want and the rest of the royal family, i think there will be a sense of regret that there are no longer going to be a part of their thinking in terms of the works of the royal family does and the duties thatis the royal family does and the duties that is so important to real life
here in the uk. I think particularly from the queen and the prince of wales, there will just from the queen and the prince of wales, there willjust be a sense that they just cannot use wales, there willjust be a sense that theyjust cannot use them in the nicest possible way that they wouldve liked. Megan came from three different background to a normal member of the British Royal family. Brought Something Different to the table in a field be a sense of regret that they cannot be exploited in pursuit. Daniela at Buckingham Palace. Todays decision is a landmark for the royal family and the duke and duchess. Our royal correpsondent Sarah Campbell looks back at the couples story so far. They met just they metjust over a year earlier and these are the first pictures in september 2017 which showed the relationship was serious. Meghan lived and worked in toronto canada, the host of harrys invictus games. The announcement
what this might mean for your life was blue i think i can barely safely say, having gone through learning in the past year and a half, i did not have any understanding of what it would be like. Even though we knew that it would be. I tried to warn you as much as, but both of us were totally surprised by the reaction after the first five or six months of what actually happened from there. Four days later, the couple carried out their first engagement together in nottingham. Just like harry, she was formal and confident. This seemed a different kind of royal walkabout. When meghan joined harry, the bird joined as the sin to be patrons of the real foundation. It seem like the future of the royal family was safe in the hands of the so called fabulous four. Their
wedding was watched by millions around the world and seemed the perfect end to a fairy tale romance. By perfect end to a fairy tale romance. By january 2019, meghan perfect end to a fairy tale romance. Byjanuary 2019, meghan was pregnant and expanding her royal role for the announcement of her first for patronage is a behind the scenes, there were several unexpected moves. Rather than live in Kensington Palace next to cambridge, should they chose the cottage in windsor, it was revealed that sussex would be exiting the Royal Foundation and setting up their own instead. The split lead to rumours of a rift between harry and his brother william, which were not denied when harry was asked about them in october of last year. Towards the end of the high profile tour of southern africa, harry and meghan announced legal action against british tabloids making it clear that they were struggling in the
royal spotlight. It had been hoped that they were returned from their extended christmas break in canada refreshed and ready to resume real duties. But instead, they wanted to step back a senior royals. After talks with prince harry, they released a statement saying, the queen said she wanted final decisions within days, but those decisions within days, but those decisions regarding the future have 110w decisions regarding the future have now been made. Stay with us on bbc news. Well have more on the significance of the announcement from Buckingham Palace and what it means for harry and meghan. This is bbc world news today. Im Lewis Vaughan jones. Our main story this hour. The Buckingham Palace has announced that prince harry and meghan will no longer formally represent the queen. They will stop using their royal titles and will no longer receive public funds for royal duties. Lets get more on the Statement Issued by Buckingham Palace. Our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, has been poring over the details. Well, it was a very warm statement from the queen. Harry, megan and archie will always be much loved members of my family harry, meghan and archie will always be much loved members of my family and she goes on to say that im particularly proud of how megan has so quickly become one of the family. So i think that that is again very empathetic from the queen. In terms of the details, here are the headlines. Henceforward, they would not
use their hrh titles. They are not losing that thing that signifies royal rank, his and her Royal Highness is, but they will no longer use their hrh titles as they are no longer working members of the royal family. So, for someone who remains a prince and remains sixth in line to the throne, that is extremely unusual that he will not call himself his Royal Highness, but that he will be harry, duke of sussex. They will repay the amount from public funds which was spent on the refurbishment of the Frogmore Cottage and, they are required to step back from royal duties, including official military appointment. So that means that harry will no longer, i presume, be captain general of the Royal Marines because that will be one of the military appointments that he is required now to step back. They will no longer receive public funds for real duties. So no further funds from the grant though they will continue to receive funds from the prince of wales from cornwall state that funds from the prince of wales from cornwall estate that amounts to about two or £3 million a year. In terms of their earning capacity and their ability to go out and earn the money that they are now going to need, there is nothing here that specifies any restrictions on that other than this. The sussexes have made clear that everything they do will continue to uphold the values of her majesty. That is being taken to be their understanding and their agreement that they will not do anything with which to completely trade on the royal family name or the fact of the royal status. But other than that, there is nothing in this really quite short statement which spells out the kind of thing that they will not be permitted to do in terms of commercial activity. One question which is unresolved is whether or not their new website, which is under the name
of sussex royal, whether there will of sussex royal, whether that will be permitted because in a sense, they will not be royal. Theyre stepping back as members of the royal family but they have gone through a lot of trouble to trademark this sussex royal handle to all of their activities. That is one unresolved area. There will be a transition period now that i suspect that we may see them carrying out several more public engagements in this country before this collection of undertakings, this package package if you like, will take effect in the spring. Earlier i spoke to royal historian dr Anna Whitelock about what this annoucement tells us about the future of the royals. I think this is another extraordinary personal statement from the queen. Speaking is a grandmother, talking about her grandson, talking about coming to a
constructive, supportive way forward and what she wanted in terms of the decision to be made, that this matter doesnt drag on. But the Statement Like the last one, is tinged with sadness and regret. She talks about there being members of the family, and the scrutiny that they have been under, which is clearly been a factor in their decision. And i think in a way it is notable for the fact that perhaps underpinning it is a sense of two members having basically jumped ship. Discussion in recent days is been how far can megan and harry and meghan be part royal and part not. This answers quite definitively. They are not to be royals any more. Not to have the titles, hrh, they are to pay back the money that the taxpayer paid for the money that the taxpayer paid for the cottage and not to represent the
queen any more. This is pretty much an application of royal responsibility as far as harry and meghan are concerned and in the next year, it will be reviewed after 12 months that it looks like they will have the life that they want away in north america with probably not very much time spent here in the uk. North america with probably not very much time spent here in the uki north america with probably not very much time spent here in the uk. I am very pleased that you picked up on that because that is been the question. Over the past few days, how was this in half and, half out role going to actually work and those of the speculation for people not quite working out how that would actually work. You seem to be pretty clear that there not going to try to make it work like that. Theyre pretty much is going. What kind of precedent is therefore that . The most dramatic precedent is when henry viii abdicated and his wife, the duke and duchess, they went into exile. But they were going into exile. But they were going into exile after having abdicated the
throne. So the circumstances are very different and i do think there isa very different and i do think there is a parallel in the sense that perhaps abandonment, that they are feeling perhaps like the queen, then king george felt when his brother abdicated the throne. Charles and william have pretty much been left in it now and prince of wales and waiting for the throne. But they are a lwa ys waiting for the throne. But they are always very close, Prince Charles is talked to a slimmed down monarchy and a plan will be centred on him and a plan will be centred on him and his wife and his two sons and theirfamily. And his wife and his two sons and their family. They checked and his wife and his two sons and theirfamily. They checked out and his wife and his two sons and their family. They checked out of that and checked out of the firm, there remain members of the family, of course he does as the queen made clear, but hes not going to be a working royal and not supporting charles and william in that way and so, ithink charles and william in that way and so, i think that beneath all of the warm words and supportive statements, that is pretty shocking
split within the firm and no doubt, it is going to take some getting used to for all members of the royal family as well as harry and meghan as they embark on this new life in north america. We do not really know what this new life in north america is going to look like and very difficult to predict at the moment. But, do you feel that theres a sense, given your knowledge that actually if any member of the royal family was likely to step away like this, we have had clues in harrys past that he may be the one. Absolutely, harry has been loved in many quarters by the press and the public of being this kind of, playboy prince, the kind of guy you would want to go to the public, not quite fitting in with the rest of the royals and very much one of us 01 the royals and very much one of us or apparently one of us. He has a lwa ys or apparently one of us. He has always been a bit of a maverick and it is right that you ask that and
the longer context because for some people, it is all about meghan. As some of the media reporting it, they are blaming meghan in suggesting that this is her malign influence. We have to understand that harry has never been comfortable within the royal family. Her thoughts on the breaking news at this hour. That is the duke and duchess of sussex. Prince harry and his wife meghan have reached an agreement at Buckingham Palace to step boy from the public life. There were no longer be working members of the royal family and not receive public funds for such duties or use their Royal Highness titles and they have expressed their wish to repay the grant for the refurbishment of the british residents and the queen thanked them for their dedicated work. Let us take your life to Buckingham Palace to see the extraordinary Statement Released by
Buckingham Palace. Those members of the royal family stepping Buckingham Palace. Those members of the royalfamily stepping back Buckingham Palace. Those members of the royal family stepping back from the royal family stepping back from the royal family stepping back from the royal duties today. This is bbc news. Away from northern scotland we saw a few showers today and it was a glorious sunny start albeit rather cold. The good news is that if you like the sort of thing, part two of the weekend is also looking sunny after record and frosty start with a little bit of mist and fog around for the reason for it is High Pressure replaces low pressure with all the wet and windy weather over the recent days. Now it is going to be a cold night and the temperatures falling sharply already, quite a hard frost out of town. A little less cold and more cloud than breeze, but we could see just a little bit of showers clipping in the eastern portions of east anglia and to the southeast. Temperatures here are nine or 10 degrees, lets call it the south westerly, but elsewhere, after a cold frosty start, therell be plenty of sunshine around this temperature is between seven and 9 degrees. High pressure still with us as we head into the start of next week but there is more weather fronts and more isobars across the north of the uk. So on monday morning starts off cold and frost in the south, this court in the north because there will be that breeze and more cloud around but essentially for monday it could be fined and drive for most of us in the best of the sunshine through central southern parts of the uk, it is sunshine in eastern scotland, claudia skies in the northwest in the northwestern aisles. Temperatures are 10 degrees and a cold day and a quarter to
compensate. Subtle changes as we head into tuesday, the weather front topples and sinks south across the country and introduces a figure band of cloud with a little bit of drizzle and as it pushes south on tuesday, we will see plenty of claudia but sunshine makes a return behind it across parts of scotland but it will be a cooler day here with temperatures eight or 9 degrees and six or8 with temperatures eight or 9 degrees and six or 8 degrees further south. To get the theme of High Pressure widely keeping things fine and dry as we head to the rest of the week with a bit of cloud and it will be cold. This the headlines. Prince harry and mcginns have announced they will not continue to do royal duties. They will attempt to repay £2. 11 million on Frogmore Cottage, which will remain their home. They said they would divide their time between they would divide their time between the uk and north america. Todays statement from Buckingham Palace does not address questions about the couples attacks in the uk and america and doesnt comment on