Harry and Meghan: 'This is seismic from the Queen - she's brought down the iron fist'
Alastair Bruce says the statement is full of warmth, but represents the Queen drawing a final line under the crisis.
Saturday 18 January 2020 21:47, UK
The Queen has "brought down the iron fist" to end a crisis that started with Prince Harry and his wife Meghan's surprise announcement that they wanted to step back as senior royals, says Sky News' royal commentator Alastair Bruce.
A palace statement issued on Saturday evening said the couple would lose public funds from spring, drop their HRH titles and pay back £2.4m of public funds used to renovate their UK home, Frogmore Cottage.
It follows a week of discussion among senior royals on how to solve the crisis.
Bruce said that although the statement was full of warmth, it represented the Queen drawing a final line and making it clear that no one can be a royal and a private individual at the same time.
He said: "This was turning into an enormous distraction and this is a seismic announcement from the Queen.
"It's still very warm on the pastoral side of affection from a grandmother to her grandson and her great-grandson and granddaughter-in-law, but at the same time she has brought down the iron fist of monarchical leadership on a problem that needed to be solved.
"She has made it very clear that the royal status, the princely status, should be dissolved.
"We now know that it will be Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex - there'll be no more Royal Highness, no more representing the Queen or being part of the ceremonial part of the Royal Family; no more military involvement, no more public money.
"This is an abdication, in a sense, from the Royal Family.
"He and his wife are now free, to a certain extent, to go and follow the dreams that they have to pursue very good works. But no longer part of the royal business.
"This is an ex-prince who is laying down all those royal trappings and those for his wife and son."