“It brings me great sadness that it has come to this.”
Prince Harry has said that he and Meghan had “no other choice” but to leave the royal family.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced their decision to step away from their royal duties earlier this month to eventually become financially dependent.
It was announced over the weekend that they would also lose their royal titles and state funding.
Speaking at a Sentebale charity event on Sunday, Prince Harry said that his decision to step back from his duties “is not one I made lightly.”
“I want you to hear the truth from me, as much as I can share – not as a prince, or a duke, but as Harry, the same person that many of you have watched grow up over the last 35 years – but with a clearer perspective,” he said.
“The UK is my home and a place that I love. That will never change (…) Once Meghan and I were married, we were excited, we were hopeful, and we were here to serve.
“For those reasons, it brings me great sadness that it has come to this.”
Harry went on to say that he and Meghan made their decision after “so many months of talks after so many years of challenges.”
He said that he believed he was left with “no other option” but to step back from the “powerful force” of the media – “because this is so much bigger than just us.”
“What I want to make clear is we’re not walking away, and we certainly aren’t walking away from you,” he said.
“Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.
“We are taking a leap of faith – thank you for giving me the courage to take this next step.”
You can watch Harry’s speech in full here:
View this post on Instagram
at tonight’s dinner for supporters of Sentebale in London Video © SussexRoyal
