Organisations with ties to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have thanked the couple for their support, after the announcement the pair would not return as working members of the Royal Family.

Buckingham Palace has announced Harry and Meghan will be stepping away from their roles permanently, after they decided to cease life as working royals last year.

The decision was made after conversations between Harry and members of the royal family, ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Sussexes formally stepping down on 31 March.

Honorary military appointments and royal patronages held by the couple – such as Harry’s affiliation with the Royal Marines and Meghan’s patronage of the National Theatre- will be returned to the Queen and “redistributed among working members of The Royal Family”, Buckingham Palace said.

The military, Commonwealth and charitable associations which will revert to the Queen are:

• The Royal Marines, RAF Honington, Royal Navy Small Ships and Diving
• The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, The Rugby Football Union, The Rugby Football League, The Royal National Theatre and The Association of Commonwealth Universities

A statement from the palace said the royals were “saddened by their decision” but that Harry and Meghan “remain much loved members of the family”.

A spokesperson for the duke and duchess said despite the formal links being broken they have “offered their continued support to the organisations they have represented regardless of official role”.

Shortly after the announcement, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) confirmed that Harry would be stepping down from his role as a patron.

It said in a post on the England Rugby Twitter account: “We would like to thank Prince Harry for his time and commitment to the RFU both in his position as Patron and Vice Patron.

“The RFU has greatly valued his contribution to promoting and supporting the game.”

It was followed by a statement from the Rugby Football League, of which Harry was also a patron.

It said: “The Rugby Football League thanks The Duke of Sussex for his time, care and commitment in supporting Rugby League at all levels in recent years – from the children’s game to the Challenge Cup, the England teams and RLWC2021.”

The National Theatre, of which the Duchess of Sussex was a patron, tweeted: “The National Theatre is very grateful for the support offered by the Duchess of Sussex throughout the course of her patronage.

“The Duchess championed our work with communities and young people across the UK, and our mission to make theatre accessible to all.

“As Buckingham Palace have stated, the process of appointing a new patron is ongoing and will be announced in due course.”

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The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust said in a statement: “We have been very lucky to have had the keen support and encouragement of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in our formative years.

“They have enabled us to make fast progress and have helped us to take the organisation to readiness for its next phase.

“We are glad that they remain in our circle of supporters.

“Our focus, as always, is on the young people we work alongside. We will be pressing on with vigour to help them reach even more people with the essential services they provide.”

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