UK

Prince Harry arrives in Canada to begin new chapter with family

Duke of Sussex said remaining as working royals but without public funding not possible

Britain’s Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, is pictured arriving at the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London on Monday. A few hours afterwards he left the UK to join his wife and son in Canada. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images.

Tue Jan 21 2020 - 09:52

Britain's Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has arrived in Canada to be reunited with his wife Meghan and son Archie.

Photographs and footage showed him getting off a plane at Vancouver International Airport and straight into a waiting car on the tarmac.

He flew from London Heathrow and emerged from the WestJet plane accompanied by a number of security guards.

A few hours earlier, he met UK prime minister Boris Johnson and world leaders at the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London, which is likely to be one of his few remaining official engagements before he and Meghan take their “leap of faith” and leave the monarchy in the spring.

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The duke gave an emotional speech on Sunday night, saying he had “no other option” but to give up his official royal duties and forge a new life in Canada, where his wife and son are setting up home.

In the speech, Harry told invited guests: “What I want to make clear is we’re not walking away, and we certainly aren’t walking away from you.

“Our hope was to continue serving the queen, the Commonwealth and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.”

The Sun’s front page on Tuesday featured a picture of a smiling Meghan out for a walk with Archie on a woodland trail on Vancouver Island. Pictures inside the newspaper showed the duchess walking with a beagle and a black Labrador.

Dual role

The Sussexes had wanted to remain as working royals, although not prominent members, and drop their public funding so they could become financially independent — a dual role many commentators deemed to be fraught with problems. Critics have accused the couple of turning their backs on the monarchy to enjoy the freedom of being able to take on commercial ventures.

Thomas Woodcock, Garter King of Arms and the man who, alongside the queen, approved Meghan’s coat of arms as Duchess of Sussex, said a halfway house arrangement is “unsatisfactory”.

Giving his personal opinion, he told the Times: “I don’t think it’s satisfactory. One cannot be two things at once. You either are (royal) or you’re not.” - PA

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