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“I Want You To Hear The Truth From Me,” Prince Harry Says In Emotional Speech On Royal Split

byAkanksha Agarwal
20th January 2020
3 minute read

On January 9, 2020, Harry & Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, announced their decision to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent. What followed was worldwide surprise, the trending hashtag #Megxit, comparisons with Rahul & Anjali from K3G and intense talks to broker a deal for the future.

According to CNN, the agreement states that the couple can no longer use the titles “His and Her Royal Highness”. In addition, they will have to forego their royal duties, the Sovereign Grant and pay rent for their Frogmore Cottage residence on Windsor Estate. Last night, at a private dinner for his charity Sentebale in London, Prince Harry opened up about how they arrived at this difficult decision and their goals moving forward.

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Having attended the 10th Annual One Young World opening ceremony on Tuesday, The Duchess of Sussex was joined today by The Duke of Sussex for a round table discussion on gender equity with OYW and Queen’s Commonwealth Trust young leaders. Over the last few days, these young leaders became @OneYoungWorld ambassadors with the intention to return to their communities and further existing initiatives to help change the world for the better. This year OYW partnered with the @Queens_Commonwealth_Trust, of which The Duke and Duchess are President and Vice-President respectively, to provide scholarships to young leaders driving positive social impact in the Commonwealth. This was the most exciting collaboration between two groups The Duchess is passionate about and has been working with for some time. For more information and highlights from the week and how you can support these incredible leaders and their initiatives, visit @OneYoungWorld Photo © SussexRoyal / PA

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The Guardian quoted him saying,

“I want you to hear the truth from me, as much as I can share – not as a prince, or a duke, but as Harry, the same person that many of you have watched grow up over the last 35 years – but with a clearer perspective.”

“The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly. It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges. And I know I haven’t always got it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option. What I want to make clear is we’re not walking away, and we certainly aren’t walking away from you. Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.”

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This evening, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the annual #WellChildAwards in London. WellChild aims to ensure every child and young person living with serious health needs has the best chance to thrive with the support and medical care needed in the comfort of their own home. The Duke of Sussex became Patron of WellChild in 2007, and last year both The Duke and Duchess attended the awards to honour the children and families that WellChild supports. The Duke, who first came to these awards over a decade ago, shared in his remarks tonight: “Last year when my wife and I attended we knew we were expecting our first child – no one else did at the time, but we did – and I remember squeezing Meghan’s hand so tightly during the awards, both of us thinking what it would be like to be parents one day, and more so, what it would be like to do everything we could to protect and help our child should they be born with immediate challenges or become unwell over time.  And now, as parents, being here and speaking to all of you pulls at my heart strings in a way I could have never understood until I had a child of my own.” • To find out more about tonight’s event and how you can support this very special organisation, please visit @WellChild Photos ©️ PA images

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BBC quoted him adding,

“I’ve accepted this, knowing that it doesn’t change who I am or how committed I am. But I hope that helps you understand what it had come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known, to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life.”

“When I lost my mum 23 years ago, you took me under your wing. You’ve looked out for me for so long, but the media is a powerful force, and my hope is one day our collective support for each other can be more powerful because this is so much bigger than just us.”

“I will always have the utmost respect for my grandmother, my commander in chief, and I am incredibly grateful to her and the rest of my family for the support they have shown Meghan and I over the last few months. I will continue to be the same man who holds his country dear and dedicates his life to supporting the causes, charities and military communities that are so important to me.”

He concluded by saying,

“We are taking a leap of faith – thank you for giving me the courage to take this next step.”

The Twitterati thought his speech was heartwarming and filled with raw emotions.

https://twitter.com/lucy_elizabeth0/status/1219048734694289409

We hope that the couple gets much-needed respite from the intense financial and media scrutiny they have faced in the past.

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