Never ones to do things by the book, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are taking another step out of their family's shadow.

The royal couple will be leaving the charity they share with Prince William and Kate Middleton, it's been reported. The two princes set up the Royal Foundation in 2009 as the main vehicle for their charity work. Both Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle came on board as patrons after marrying into the family. The couples made their first joint appearance for the organisation with the Royal Foundation Q&A Forum last February. It was intended to be a yearly event but 16 months on, The Sun has revealed that Meghan and Harry are leaving. "At the start of last year, the plan was that all four would work together and I really believed in them as the power of four," a charity source said. “The forum was going to be an annual event and last year’s was supposed to be the first of many. It’s very sad it’s going to end like this.”  

"He wants autonomy."

Royal commentator Duncan Larcombe said that the move "does seem odd" as the couples both have the same interests. "Why separate when you are both backing the same causes? Whether this is a sign of a rift, this is certainly a sign of a division. “It is clear that Meghan and Harry were initially prepared to slot in under the wing of William and Kate but that’s not how they feel a year on." Harry wants to forge his own path, he continued. "For years, before he met Meghan, he was the royal gooseberry standing behind William and Kate. “He’s now a full-time working royal with his wife, he wants autonomy as to what he does, how he does it and how she does it, which is a definite change to how it was 12 months ago."