Less than a year after their decision to step down as senior royals, Buckingham Palace has confirmed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not return to royal life in the UK.
The palace confirmed the news in a statement released on Friday. People have been speculating this was coming but didn't believe we'd hear final word until the end of March, when their 12-month probationary period came to a close.
The decision means that the couple will lose their royal patronages. Harry will also lose his honorary military titles, which have meant a lot to the veteran, who served on two tours of duty.
Harry and Meghan have also released a statement confirming the news and looking forward to the future.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have officially stepped away from royal life for good. On Friday, both the couple and Buckingham Palace released statements confirming the two will not return to royal life in the UK.
"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have confirmed to Her Majesty The Queen that they will not be returning as working members of The Royal Family," the Buckingham Palace statement begins.
"Following conversations with The Duke, The Queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of The Royal Family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service," the statement continued.
"The honorary military appointments and Royal patronages held by The Duke and Duchess will therefore be returned to Her Majesty, before being redistributed among working members of The Royal Family."
The statement notes those patronages are the Queen's Commonwealth Trust, the Rugby Football Union, the Rugby Football League, the Royal National Theatre, and the Association of Commonwealth Universities.
"While all are saddened by their decision, The Duke and Duchess remain much loved members of the family," the statement concludes.
The notes also indicate that Harry will lose his honorary military appointments. Those include his titles at the Royal Marines, Royal Air Force Honington, and Royal Navy Small Ships and Diving.
"As evidenced by their work over the past year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the UK and around the world, and have offered their continued support to the organizations they have represented regardless of official role," the couple's statement reads.
"We can all live a life of service. Service is universal."
There are some associations that Harry and Meghan do get to keep. Harry has his Invictus Games Foundation, which is one way he'll keep his strong ties to the military community. There's also Sentebale, his personal charity that he set up with friend Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to help combat the HIV/AIDS crisis in southern Africa. Harry will also continue his relationship with WellChild, which helps provide resources to sick children and their families.
Still, many think that Harry should be able to keep his military associations as one of the few members of the royal family who served in active duty. In addition to losing those titles, he will no longer be allowed to wear ceremonial dress uniforms. It's reportedly been one of the hardest aspects of this transition for him.
There's been some speculation over who will take over Harry's honorary military appointments. Sources believe Prince William is unlikely to be given any of them because of the optics around the alleged ongoing feud between the brothers. It's believed Princess Anne will get to become the first female head of the Royal Marines.
It will be interesting to see if this recent development comes up in the couple's interview with Oprah Winfrey, set to air on March 7. They are allegedly willing to open up about their whole experience leaving the royal family. If that's the case, the interview is bound to ruffle more feathers.
