This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jan/10/harry-meghan-returns-canada-queen-demands-workable-solution

The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Meghan returns to Canada as Queen calls for a 'workable solution' Meghan returns to Canada as Queen calls for 'workable solution'
(about 1 hour later)
Fallout continues over royal couple’s decision to ‘step back’ from monarchyFallout continues over royal couple’s decision to ‘step back’ from monarchy
The Duchess of Sussex has returned to Canada as the Queen and other senior royals took decisive action and ordered their teams to find a “workable solution” to Prince Harry and Meghan’s future roles. The Duchess of Sussex has flown back to Canada, leaving senior royals to hammer out a way forward for her and Prince Harry to operate as “hybrid” royals.
The couple had only recently arrived in the UK after spending an extended festive break in the Commonwealth country but she is now back with the couple’s baby son, Archie, who remained behind, reportedly looked after by a nanny and friends of the duchess. As Meghan, 38, returned to Vancouver, and the embrace of supportive friends, top royal aides were in unprecedented talks with government officials in the UK and Canada to seek a solution to end the latest crisis to engulf the monarchy.
A spokeswoman for Meghan said: “I can confirm she is in Canada.” The Queen, Prince Charles, the Duke of Cambridge and his brother are all keen to get solid, workable proposals on the table as early as next week to prevent the matter festering, and to curtail and contain the crisis.
It follows Harry and Meghan’s bombshell announcement that they are to “step back” from the royal family and split their time between Britain and North America. As advisers grappled with complicated issues over future funding and police protection for the couple, there remained the question of whether a solution could be found that the Sussexes would find acceptable.
A Buckingham Palace source said the Queen, Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge had asked aides to work “at pace” with governments and the Sussex household to find a solution to the couple’s plans to become financially independent royals. Senior royals are understood to be very anxious to avoid negative headlines suggesting the couple are being forced to do something against their will.
It is understood Meghan was always due to return to Canada after a brief return trip to the UK. A source told PA Media “she came back to attend some meetings and then went back”. A spokeswoman for the duchess said: “I can confirm she is in Canada.” There was no indication given on how long Meghan, who was based in Toronto while starring in the legal drama Suits, would remain there, or if Harry would shortly join her.
It is understood Meghan was always due to return to Canada after a brief return trip to the UK. A source said she came back to attend some meetings and then went back.
Harry and Meghan set out their proposals to “step back” from being senior, frontline royals, split their time between north America and the UK, and to become “financially independent” in an explosive statement released on their new website sussexroyal.com, leaving Buckingham Palace blindsided on Wednesday evening.
But their proposals for a “progressive new role”, as laid out on their website, are far from detailed.
A Buckingham Palace source has said the Queen, Charles, William and Harry have asked their senior aides to work “at pace” to find a way to allow the couple to become financially independent royals.
Meghan flew back to Canada just days after returning to the UK at the weekend, following a six-week break with Harry and their son, Archie, away from royal duties.
Though the couple were in the early stages of talks with Charles and the Queen over a change in their role, no members of the royal family were forewarned that they were about to make the matter public.
When their statement exploded across social and main stream media, the Queen, Charles and William had no option but to accelerate the process immediately. They now see it as imperative to reach an agreement. The home secretary, Priti Patel, has been asked to participate in the talks.
According to reports, the couple were frustrated at the lack of progress after first informing Charles before Christmas of their plan and failing to get a meeting with the Queen.
It is claimed they ignored a request by the Queen not to go public until matters were sorted. The couple are reported to have summoned their own aides to their Frogmore Cottage home in Windsor on Monday evening. Despite entreaties from those aides not to release a statement, as it was “disrespectful” to the Queen and also “shooting themselves in the foot”, their minds were made up, sources told the Daily Mail.
One source told the newspaper they had been “holed up” in Canada, away from the influence of palace aides, in a “vacuum, thinking and plotting, winding each other up”. On their return, it was said, they would “listen to no one but each other”.
The fact their new website was registered last March, has fuelled speculation the couple’s plan has been long in the making. The website is created by the Toronto-based digital agency Article, who built Meghan’s now defunct lifestyle blog, The Tig.