Just under a year after the infamous ‘Sandringham Summit’ where Prince Harry met with the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William to discuss his role and wife Meghan Markle’s role in the royal family, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have said they are officially saying goodbye to royal life.

On Friday, Buckingham Palace issued a statement on behalf of Her Majesty stating that the Sussexes would not be returning to public royal life, which “saddened” the Queen, but it was stated they remain “much-loved members of the family”.

“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have confirmed to Her Majesty The Queen that they will not be returning as working members of The Royal Family,” the statement said.

“Following conversations with The Duke, The Queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of The Royal Family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service. The honorary military appointments and Royal patronages held by The Duke and Duchess will therefore be returned to Her Majesty, before being redistributed among working members of The Royal Family.

“While all are saddened by their decision, The Duke and Duchess remain much-loved members of the family.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also issued a statement of their own.

“As evidenced by their work over the past year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the UK. and around the world, and have offered their continued support to organizations they have represented, regardless of official role,” read the statement.

“We can all live a life of service. Service is universal.”

According to some reports, insiders have said the statement from the Sussexes is “horribly disrespectful” to the Queen.

“They have made a roaring success of what they set out to do in the US, this independent life. And good luck to them. But you can’t have your cake and eat it,” the source told the Daily Mail.

With multi-million dollar deals with Spotify and Netflix, it was hard to envision Harry and Meghan returning to the royal family. And while they have had to rescind a number of their patronages and titles, they also continue to hold on to many patronages in the UK to continue to hold ties to the country, as they said in their statement.

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Feature image: Getty/Instagram @sussexroyal