It’s set to be a year of massive change for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, with their upcoming move to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, Meghan Markle’s due date on the horizon and their new split from William and Kate's royal household.
Now, new reports suggest the couple had hoped to take things one step further and be "totally independent" from Buckingham Palace.
Last week Kensington Palace announced that the Queen had “agreed to the creation of a new Household for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, following their marriage in May last year” and that it was set to be “established in the spring”. At present, the Sussexes and Kate Middleton and Prince William all share Kensington Palace’s communications team, social media accounts and more.
The new move allows Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to hire “new communications staff, who will form part of the Buckingham Palace communications team and report to the Queen’s Communications Secretary”.
But according to a source who spoke to the The Sunday Times, “[The Sussexes] wanted their household to be entirely independent of Buckingham Palace, but were told 'no'. 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,” the source continued.
The Sussexes and Cambridges are believed to be splitting their households following the birth of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's child later this spring, however they will continue to be joint patrons of the Royal Foundation. In fact, the Sussexes have already hired a new head of communications: Sara Latham, who previously advised Hillary Clinton on her 2016 presidential campaign.
Although Meghan and Prince Harry may be moving away from London to their newly renovated home Frogmore Cottage, a royal statement revealed that their new Household Office would be based in Buckingham Palace.
