LONDON — In a year of gut punches to Britain’s royal family, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, delivered a jarring blow of their own on Wednesday, announcing that they would “step back” from their official duties.
It was an extraordinary retreat by the popular prince and his American wife, who had grown increasingly isolated within the House of Windsor since their wedding in 2018.
In a statement, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as they are also known, said they planned to divide their time between Britain and North America and would “work to become financially independent.”
“After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year to carve out a progressive new role within this institution,” the couple said in a post on their Instagram account. “It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment.”
While the language in the statement was mild and upbeat, the change that Prince Harry and his wife are embarking on is momentous. Although he is only sixth in the line of succession to Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Harry has exerted an outsized hold on the public imagination ever since his days as the mischievous, ginger-haired younger son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
