There May Be a Silver Lining in Meghan Markle & Prince Harry’s Decision to Step Down

Their statement went on to say, “It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment. We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity.”

They concluded the message by ensuring their followers that “full details of this exciting next step” will be released in “due course, as we continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties.” They thanked everyone for their continued support and signed off with their formal royal titles.

At first glance, their note seems like the beginning of a goodbye, right? The thing is, if the Duke and Duchess of Sussex step down as senior members of the royal family, I don’t anticipate that we’ll necessarily see less of them. In fact, I’m almost sure fans will garner a more intimate, authentic look at who they are as people, as a family and as philanthropists.

Why? Well, think about it. Prior to Markle’s initiation into the royal family, she spent her time acting on the hit series Suits, running her blog The Tig, speaking as a United Nations Ambassador, doing philanthropic and mission-based work and walking red carpets. In short, she was anything but a wallflower. Under the guise of royal protocol, she and her husband were expected to adhere to a set of rules and expectations. Without that veil of traditionalism, they’ll be free to control their own narrative and set their own boundaries. This could potentially mean more candid Instagram photos and captions written by their own hand. It could mean they’ll get to go to more events wearing whatever they want and have the opportunity to lead semi-normal lives. It’s actually incredibly exciting for them.

Another point to focus on is that they mention their intention “to become financially independent.” As we all know, that doesn’t happen in a vacuum. They’re launching a “new charitable entity,” so that’s potentially how they’ll make money, but I wonder if they’ll also pen memoirs or schedule speaking engagements à la Michelle and Barack Obama. The opportunities are endless.

Although it may seem like they’re going underground, I think this is just Harry and Meghan approaching the next iteration of their platform. Hopefully, that means they’re not going anywhere.