Following an October report that Prince William and Prince Harry were considering setting up separate courts, Queen Elizabeth II has reportedly agreed to the creation of a new royal household for Harry, Duke of Sussex, and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
In a move that has reportedly been in the works since before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s royal wedding, it looks like William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Harry and Meghan will begin operating under two different offices — rather than the one they have shared since 2009 — this spring. It’s unclear whether the separation will take place before or after the birth of Harry and Meghan’s first royal baby.
“The Queen has given support for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to base their Household Office at Buckingham Palace,” the Daily Mail reports. “Their Royal Highnesses will appoint new communications staff, who will form part of the Buckingham Palace communications team and report to The Queen’s Communications Secretary, Donal McCabe. Kensington Palace will continue to support Their Royal Highnesses until that team is in place.”
According to the Sunday Times, the brothers are setting up separate courts in order to reflect their “increasingly different responsibilities.” But the news comes amid reports of “tension” between the two couples. In December, Kensington Palace issued a rare statement denying a report of an alleged clash between Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton before Markle’s royal wedding took place in May. “This never happened,” a royal spokesperson told The Sun.
The palace previously confirmed that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are relocating from Nottingham Cottage at Kensington, where Prince William and Kate Middleton live, to Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor estate.
