Britain's Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle have said they are going to take a break from their royal Instagram account. The announcement comes as the couple prepares for life outside the royal inner circle.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/K. Wiggleswirth
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Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle posted a final "thank you" message to their 11.3 million Instagram followers on Monday as they prepare to end their roles as senior working members of the British royal family.
"While you may not see us here on the Instagram account, the work continues... We look forward to reconnecting with you soon. You've been great!" the couple wrote on their "sussexroyal" Instagram account, signing off informally as Harry and Meghan.
The couple are stepping down as senior members of the British royal family on Tuesday.
"What's most important right now is the health and wellbeing of everyone," they wrote, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic. "As we can all feel, the world at this moment seems extraordinarily fragile."
They announced in January that they intended to quit royal life and "work to become financially independent."
Harry and Meghan got married in May 2018, and have a 10-month-old son named Archie.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's love story
As Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announce that they'll be leaving their royal position, here's a look back at how the Duke and Duchess of Sussex got together and their ensuing relationship.
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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
US TV actor Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, sixth-in-line to the British throne, met in July 2016 after they were introduced through friends. In September 2017, she told "Vanity Fair": "We're in love." They married less than 10 months later. In May 2019, Meghan gave birth to their first child, Archie. Now the couple has surprised the world by announcing that they'd leave their functions as royals.
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Watched by billions
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding was the focus of a media frenzy months ahead of the event, held on May 19, 2018. The traditional royal ceremony included for the first time elements of African American culture, such as a gospel choir, in reference to Meghan's roots. Several high profile Hollywood celebrities were among the guests — friends of the former actress.
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A smiling couple
Prince Harry and Markle were photographed holding hands for the first time in September 2017, during a wheelchair tennis competition at the Invictus Games in Toronto, Canada. The games for disabled or wounded soldiers and veterans were created by Harry.
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The young Harry
The youngest son of Prince Charles and the late princess Diana, Prince Henry of Wales — familiarly known as Prince Harry — was born in 1984. His childhood was dominated by his parents' messy divorce and Diana's tragically early death. The family is shown pictured together in 1995, with Harry on the left side next to his mother, and his brother Prince William next to their father.
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After Princess Diana's death
Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris in 1997. Harry was only 12 at the time, and his brother William, 15. This iconic picture shows the young princes bowing their heads as their mother's coffin is carried out of Westminster Abbey. The tragic event deeply affected Prince Harry.
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A long process of grief
Harry publicly revealed how much he had struggled throughout his life. In support of a mental health campaign, he revealed in an interview with the "Daily Telegraph" that he came "very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions." He added: "Shutting down all of my emotions for the last 20 years has had a quite serious effect on not only my personal life, but also my work as well."
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The playboy prince grows up
The impulsive prince appears to have inherited his mother's ability to connect with people, as well as her sense of mischief. Often photographed with different attractive women, he was long labelled a "playboy." He once told Newsweek that he "wanted out" of the Royal Family.
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The army as escape
Photographs of him wearing a swastika at a costume party that were published in 2005 caused outrage. That same year, he entered the army, as many other royals have done, and spent 10 years serving in the British forces. He later admitted that his military service "was the best escape I've ever had" from the constant public attention.
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A popular prince
Following his military career through which he served twice in Afghanistan, Harry has turned into one of Britain's most popular royals, not just within the country, but globally. Like his mother, he uses his public profile to raise awareness for different causes, including a recent campaign about mental health with William and Kate.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/K. Wigglesworth
Meghan Markle
Britain barely knew who Meghan Markle was when her name started appearing on newspapers' front pages in October 2017. Born in 1981 in Los Angeles, as an actor she portrayed a lawyer in the hit TV show "Suits." News coverage on Prince Harry's girlfriend was hard-hitting, however, including comment pieces with "racial undertones" and "outright sexism and racism" online, said Harry's office.
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First marriage with producer
Part of the criticism came in connection with her former marriage with film producer Trevor Engelson, from 2010 to 2013. Markle also had her own lifestyle blog, thetig.com, which she shut down after she came into the royal family's spotlight. On it, she had proudly declared her independence: "I've never wanted to be a lady who lunches — I've always wanted to be a woman who works," she wrote.
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Humanitarian work
Like the prince, Markle does humanitarian work. She's an ambassador for the Canadian charity "World Vision Canada," which works for children in developing countries, and she also campaigns for women's rights with the UN. The actress has a degree in communications.
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Paying for security
Harry, 35, is reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth's grandson, and is sixth in line to the British throne. Despite stepping down, the couple will continue to be known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, their official titles, and Harry remains sixth in line to the throne, with no change in the line of succession.
Since revealing their plans, the couple had been living in a luxury mansion on Canada's Pacific west coast, visiting the UK only briefly this month.
It had been thought they would continue to base themselves in Canada. But the pair are said to have relocated to California by private jet earlier this month before the United States closed its northern border because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Meghan, a 38-year-old former actress, grew up in Los Angeles and her mother, Doria Ragland, still lives there.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the couple should pay for their own security detail if they live in the United States, amid unconfirmed reports they are moving their North American base from Canada's Vancouver Island to Los Angeles.
"Now they have left Canada for the US, however, the US will not pay for their security protection. They must pay!" Trump tweeted, adding that he was "a great friend and admirer" of Harry's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Following the president's tweet, the couple's spokeswoman clarified that Harry and Meghan had "no plans to ask the US government for security resources." "Privately-funded security arrangements have been made," she said.
