Royal crisis: What will be discussed at Sandringham summit as Harry and Meghan 'step back'?
Prince Charles' fund of the couple and security are among the topics up for discussion.
Monday 13 January 2020 11:18, UK
Prince Harry is meeting the Queen at Sandringham for crisis talks to discuss how he and Meghan will make money, where they will live and how they can still be part of the Royal Family.
The Duke of Sussex and his grandmother will be joined by at the Queen's Norfolk estate as they thrash out the details of Harry and Meghan's future, including how they can split their time between the UK and North America.
Meghan returned to Canada, where the couple spent Christmas with son Archie, last week and is expected to join the meeting via phone or video call.
After the made the sudden announcement they will "step back" from being senior royals to become "financially independent" on Wednesday night - said to be a shock to the rest of the Royal Family - the Queen said she wants to come to an agreement on their future "within days not weeks".
But, royal correspondents and authors are in agreement a deal cannot be hashed out in a day.
Roya Nikkah the Sunday Times' royal correspondent, told Sky News she does not think the palace will release any details today but by Wednesday or Thursday "we may have some details".
"I think there's enormous pressure to get something done this week, maybe a fudge deal but there's no way they'll get a solution to this very complicated situation done in a week," David McClure, author of Royal Legacy, told Sky News.
"We're talking about months really, it is a major change to how certain royals operate, it's a fundamental change."
Monday is the first time Harry will have been in the same room as the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge since announcing his plans less than a week ago.
"Make no mistake, the Queen will be in charge," Russell Myers, the Daily Mirror's royal correspondent told Sky News.
"But it depends what Queen turns up. Is it the head of the monarchy, head of the family or granny?
"Harry is certainly hoping granny turns up if he wants to get his way.
"They all need cool heads at this juncture because we could see the whole monarchy changing forever."
There will be many issues on the table, including how Harry and Meghan will make money.
They have said they expect to continue to receive funding from Prince Charles, who gives his sons money made through the Duchy of Cornwall, which includes 135,000 acres (54,632 hectares) of land.
As the Royal Family are said to have been taken by surprise with the announcement, it is unclear if the Prince of Wales had previously agreed to Harry and Meghan's continued funding.
Mr McClure said: "The Duchy gives Charles some leverage, there was a report last week that palace aides said Charles wasn't prepared to give them a blank cheque, so Charles could turn the tap off or reduce the amount of money.
"At the moment it's about £2m a year and that's to pay primarily for their public duties.
"If they're going to cut down on being working royals maybe they should get less money from him."
Ms Nikkah added: "What Harry and Meghan said in that statement of intent which they rushed out last week is that they do want to keep doing some kind of work on behalf of the crown, they do want to continue to support the Queen.
"They seem to be envisioning some sort of half in half out scenario and there isn't a blueprint for that - we'll see what Prince Charles and Prince William hammer out today with Harry."
Harry and Meghan also said they expect to keep Frogmore Cottage, in the grounds of Windsor Castle, as their UK home but as that was given to them by the Queen, it is up to her to decide.
"Frogmore Cottage is part of the royal estate, it was a gift from the Queen. I think it's unlikely they would sell it," Mr McClure told Sky News.
Another major issue the Sandringham summit will be dealing with is how to ensure the couple's safety if they are no longer senior working royals and living in two continents.
Ken Wharfe, Princess Diana's former personal protection officer, told Sky News whatever happens, Harry and Meghan will still be senior royals and therefore Scotland Yard should continue to protect them.
He said Harry's mother decided she was no longer part of the Royal Family after divorcing Charles so did not retain the security guaranteed by the Met Police while she was a royal, which he said was a mistake.
Mr Wharfe, who knew Harry and William as boys, added that Canada is a member of the Commonwealth so there is a reciprocal agreement for carrying firearms and exchanging intelligence.
He said it would be difficult for private security to provide the level of protection they need so Scotland Yard would have to, but he believes a compromise could be agreed on.