1:07
- culture
- Royal Family
- February 19, 2021
Harry, Meghan not returning as working royals
The Sussexes first stepped back from their royal roles last year.
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The appointments and patronages that Harry and Meghan are now losing include The Royal Marines, RAF Honington, Royal Navy Small Ships and Diving, the Queen's Commonwealth Trust, the Rugby Football Union, the Rugby Football League, the Royal National Theatre and the Association of Commonwealth Universities.
Harry will keep his role leading the Invictus Games, which he founded in 2014 as a Paralympic-style competition for wounded service members.
A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan also issued a statement, saying the couple \"offers their continued support\" of the organizations they will no longer formally represent.
“As evidenced by their work over the past year, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the U.K. and around the world, and have offered their continued support to the organizations they have represented regardless of official role,\" the spokesperson said in a statement. \"We can all live a life of service. Service is universal.”
Harry had been named Commonwealth Youth Ambassador by the queen in 2018. The next year, Meghan was named vice president of the Queen's Commonwealth Trust, where she worked alongside Harry to support and connect young leaders.
Meghan notably took over the roles as patron of the National Theatre and the Association of Commonwealth Universities from Queen Elizabeth, which was seen at the time as an endorsement of Meghan as she started her life as member of the royal family.
Harry and Meghan, who now live in California, will remain financially independent. The couple paid back in September the $3 million in British taxpayers' money that was used to refurbish Frogmore Cottage, their U.K. residence.
Since stepping back as working royals last year, Harry and Meghan have carved out a voice for themselves that they would not have been able to have as working royals. In September they urged Americans to get out and vote while making their first joint television appearance since moving to the U.S.
They also made their moves in Hollywood, inking a multi-year deal with Spotify to produce and host podcasts and a deal with Netflix to produce films and series.
The Sussexes also launched their new organization, Archewell, that will oversee their nonprofit work as well as their audio and production ventures.
Harry and Meghan have not, to the public's knowledge, returned to the U.K. since early March, when they attended their last official engagement as working royals.
The couple plans to break their silence next month in a 90-minute primetime special with Oprah Winfrey, who was a guest at their 2018 wedding.
Harry and Meghan's interview with Winfrey, set to air March 7, will be the first they have done since leaving the U.K. last year.
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