Elizabeth II has agreed to a “period of transition” while details of a more “independent” role for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are hammered out.

After a crisis meeting of senior royals at the Queen’s Sandringham estate, the Queen said she had agreed that Prince Harry and Meghan could split their time between the UK and Canada but that „complex matters “would have to be resolved. The monarch said she had ordered final plans to be drawn up in the next few days.

In a statement after the meeting, the Queen said the family would have preferred the couple to „remain full-time working members of the royal family“, but that they „respect and understand Prince Harry and Meghan’s „wish to live a more independent life“.

The Queen said the family had „very constructive discussions on the future of my grandson and his family“ during the meeting, adding that they are „entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family“.
There were „complex matters for my family to resolve“, and no final agreement had been reached, particularly over Harry and Meghan’s desire to become „financially independent“.