Prince Harry officially stepped down from his royal duties today following a decision with his wife Meghan Markle to no longer dedicate their time to the Royal Family. Now planning on becoming financially independent, the couple will split their time between the UK and North America.
As part of an agreement with Buckingham Palace, this means Prince Harry will no longer partake in “royal duties, including official military appointments”, changing the way Harry travels for good.
As part of travel for royal tours and other appearances, the Royal Family must follow a strict criteria.
As representatives of the UK, it is essential the royals learn the basic greeting in each country’s native language before they visit.
“The internal palace aids will always be on hand to prepare each royal before an important visit,” says Myka Meier, founder of Beaumont Etiquette, told Readers Digest.
READ MORE:The real difference between Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton
Despite this, the Duke of Sussex has been known to greet locals and even offer speeches while on tour in the past.
He has delivered a speech in Arabic before, as well as offering a speech in six languages while on tour in New Zealand.
In the speech, he is reported to have spoken Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, Niuean, Cook Islands Maori, Maori.
At the time he said: “This is definitely the first time I’ve spoken most of those languages, so I apologise if my accent wasn’t any good.”
Of course, while Harry may no longer be required to learn languages as part of royal duty, his wife Meghan Markle is known to speak foreign languages, and she might be keen to encourage Harry’s international schooling.
According to the Duchess of Sussex’s Royal biography: “The Duchess completed an internship at the US Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she learned to speak Spanish. She also studied French for six years.”
Reports also state that when visiting Edinburgh in February 2018 Ms Markle greeted people using the Filipino phrase “salamat po,” meaning “thank you” in Tagalog.
Though little is known about what the future of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle holds, the couple has assured they will be financially independent.
A statement from Buckingham Palace assured: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have shared their wish to repay Sovereign Grant expenditure for the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage, which will remain their UK family home.”
Speaking to Hello! a palace source added: “The Queen has made it clear that Frogmore will continue to be the Sussexes’ home.
“They will repay the public expenditure on it and will pay for its upkeep. They will be paying a commercial rent on it.”
