Here's When Harry and Meghan's Royal Duties Will End

They'll no longer carry out functions on the queen's behalf after March 31
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 19, 2020 2:16 PM CST
Here's When Harry and Meghan's Royal Duties Will End
In this Tuesday, July 10, 2018 file photo Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, and Meghan the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry watch a flypast of Royal Air Force aircraft pass over Buckingham Palace in London.   (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)

Harry and Meghan have 42 more days as senior royals. A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex says they will formally step down as senior royals on March 31, meaning they will no longer carry out official duties for the queen after that date, the BBC reports. They will also retain their HRH titles but stop using them, and it's not clear whether they will still use the word "royal." (The couple's foundation applied to trademark their Sussex Royal brand last year.) They'll give up their Buckingham Palace office and will, from April 1 onward, be represented by their UK foundation. Harry will retain his ranks, but his honorary military positions will be suspended. All of the above will be reviewed after 12 months, and changes could be made.

Until March 31, they do still have royal engagements to carry out, and are returning to the UK for some of them at the end of this month. They have six UK events in February and March. After that, as they split their time between the UK and North America, their spokesperson says they will "regularly" return to the UK, including for the London Marathon (for which Harry is a patron) in April. But they are expected to spend most of their time in Canada, though they will retain a home in England. A decision on the couple's use of the Sussex Royal label will be announced later this month, the AP reports, along with more details about a new nonprofit Harry and Meghan are launching. But the British media is already reporting, via anonymous sources, that the queen has "banned" Harry and Meghan's use of the "royal" brand. (More Prince Harry stories.)

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