The relationship between Britain’s royals and the media is awkward, mistrustful — and seemingly inescapable. But now Meghan and Harry want out.
After years of growing tension with the press, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have announced plans to quit their senior royal duties, move part-time to North America, seek financial independence and withdraw from regular media scrutiny.
In a challenge to the press, the couple slammed the country's long-standing arrangements for royal media coverage, saying they preferred to communicate directly with the public through social media.
The British press was stung by the snub, reacting Thursday with articles, columns, and editorials that ranged from disappointment to fury.
The Daily Mirror said in an editorial that the couple’s failure to tell Harry’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth II about their plans “shows shocking disregard for a woman whose entire life has been ruled by a sense of public duty and honor.” The Times of London accused Harry of “petulance and hot-headedness,” while the Daily Mail said the couple wanted “the status of being 'senior' royals but the privacy and freedom of being private citizens."
The Sun and the New York Post described the departure as “Megxit," a play on Brexit, Britain's impending departure later this month from the European Union.
Harry and Meghan’s shock announcement drew comparisons to the abdication of the queen's uncle King Edward VIII, who gave up the throne in 1936 so he could marry divorced American Wallis Simpson. Once again, waspish commentators noted, an American woman has caused a ruction in the royal family.
While some of us are still shocked by the news, others went on social media to express their thoughts about the whole situation. Take a look below: