Queen Elizabeth reportedly denied Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s attempts to start an entirely independent household outside Buckingham Palace.
“They wanted their household to be entirely independent of Buckingham Palace, but were told ‘no,’” a royal source told the Sunday Times. “There is an institutional structure that doesn’t allow that kind of independence. The feeling is that it’s good to have the Sussexes under the jurisdiction of Buckingham Palace, so they can’t just go off and do their own thing.”
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Kensington Palace did not comment on the report.
While the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not be allowed to establish their own court, they were allowed to split their royal household from Prince William and Kate Middleton. The process was completed last week.
“The Queen has agreed to the creation of a new Household for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, following their marriage in May last year. The Household, which will be created with the support of The Queen and The Prince of Wales, will be established in the spring,” Kensington Palace said in a statement released on March 14.
The statement continued, “The Duke of Sussex currently has his own private office, which has been supporting The Duchess since Their Royal Highness’s engagement in November 2017. This long-planned move will ensure that permanent support arrangement for the Duke of Duchess’s work are in place as they start their family and move to their official residence at Frogmore Cottage.”
Harry’s grandmother did give the couple the green light to continue using Buckingham Palace as the base for their Household Office. They are in the process of hiring a new communications staff, who will report to the Queen’s Communications Secretary, Donal McCabe.
Harry and Markle’s move to Frogmore Cottage comes as the couple prepares to welcome their first child. The baby is reportedly due in late April or early May.
On Monday, March 11, Markle and Harry attended Westminster Abbey’s Commonwealth Day service, her final public engagement before starting maternity leave. Prince William, Middleton and Prince Charles also attended.
During the event, Middleton kissed Markle on both checks, reportedly in an attempt to put the feud rumors to rest.
“It’s not always been easy, there have been issues behind the scenes, but Harry and Meghan want to leave on good terms and Kate especially has been making a real effort,” one source told Vanity Fair. “There are no bad feelings and I think Kate was keen to put an end to these rift rumors. She has no problem with Meghan and she has made it clear to Meghan that she’s there for advice or whatever Meghan might need.”
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