ROYAL SUMMIT: What Queen Elizabeth's New Statement Means for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Future

Victoria Murphy of Town & Country Magazine wrote:With a field full of journalists standing outside, a Duchess thought to be dialing in from half way around the world, and a backdrop of wall-to-wall coverage examining the potential outcome, the royal family convened one of the most extraordinary meetings in recent memory.

Prince Harry walked into a summit about his future with his brother, father, and grandmother at Sandringham today. He was also there with the head of state and two future heads of state in a meeting. The outcome of the discussions would have repercussions for the family and consequences for the UK and the monarchy for decades to come.

It would be an understatement to say that there were a lot of issues to iron out. Funding, security, logistics—all these are of great concern to the royals. Quite how this was ever going to get sorted between lunch and high tea is anyone’s guess. But, with instructions to find some kind of solution “at pace,” there was a desire to move things forward.

The result? For now, nothing but an incredibly personal and somewhat poignant statement. Issued directly from the Queen, the message was clear: The family supports Harry and Meghan but this is very “complex.” Perhaps most astonishing was the acknowledgement that the rest of the family “would have preferred them to remain full-time working Members of the Royal Family.”

This admission spells out what has become apparent over the last week, as deep divisions within the family have been laid bare. This is not about the natural progression as Prince Charles leads his family towards a slimmed down monarchy. It is about a couple who have made a big change because they are deeply unhappy with how things have been.

Notable, too, is the staggeringly informal use from the Queen of “Harry and Meghan.” Much has already been made of whether they will retain titles in their new roles; however, the use of first names in this statement primarily reminds us all that this this statement came a grandmother writing about the future happiness of members of her family. The ultimate goal, she said, was to help them "live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family"

Talk is now of a period of “transition,” an as yet unspecified amount of time where Harry and Meghan will “spend time in Canada and the UK.” Meghan had returned to England last week for only a few days before leaving again, and for now, there is no further indication regarding how this geographic division of time will work.

Also notable was the emphasis that Harry and Meghan “do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives.” This point formed the bulk of the content on their newly-created website, which told the world how they saw their new roles working. Significantly, they appear to believe that by making this change they will no longer be required to have the same relationship with the British media that is currently in place. Whether this will be achievable if they continue to carry out duties representing Britain overseas is just one of the finer points yet to be resolved.

The bigger picture, however, is that the direction of travel for Harry and Meghan is away from the UK. Whether they will spend half of their time, some of their time, or hardly any of their time in Britain is still unclear. But they are going their own way, and nothing is going to stop them.