It’s a hard “Megxit” – but it might just work

In the end, it took just over a week for Prince Harry to announce and finalise the terms of his exit from the royal family. But Queen seems to have told him that, while he’s free to leave the firm, out means out. He and Meghan have agreed to give up their ‘royal highness’ titles so they will “no longer be working members of the royal family”. Their idea of being hybrid royals, “collaborating” with the Queen, has been politely but firmly quashed. They’ll perform no more royal duties and – ergo – receive no more taxpayers’ money. Moreover, they’ll refund the £2.4 million cost of refurbishing Frogmore Cottage outside Windsor, which they’ll keep as their UK home. This gives a taste of how hard the deal is: Harry and Meghan had been angling to avoid this bill, saying on their glitzy website that the costly upgrade merely reflected ‘the monarchy’s responsibility to maintain the upkeep of buildings with historical significance.’