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The Palace's Response To Meghan & Harry Stepping Back From Royalty Is So Confusing

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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry shocked the world when they announced they would be taking a "step back" as members of the royal family on Jan. 8, and now, Buckingham Palace has shared a statement of their own. And, to be honest, the new statement didn't exactly clarify what was going on. In fact, the Palace's response to Meghan and Harry "stepping back" from royalty was pretty darn confusing.

In case you somehow missed it, the news that Meghan and Harry are changing directions in their royal careers arrived via the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's official Instagram page. The lengthy post was a lot to digest, but the message was pretty clear: these two are shaking royal customs up big time.

“After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution," the statement began. "We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen. It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment." They went on to reveal they'd be splitting their time between the U.K. and North America as they turn their focus to their new "charitable entity."

While the announcement was met with shock, overall, royal fans were excited for and supportive of the Sussexes' choice.

But just over an hour after the couple released their statement, the Palace released one of their own.

According to a statement obtained by Harpers Bazaar royals reporter Omid Scobie, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: "Discussions with The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage. We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through."

"Complicated issues" is right. The Duke and Duchess are making a bold move, and one that has never been made before. That being said, these "discussions" with the Duke and Duchess sound so cryptic and, TBH, it sounds like not much of this is figured out just yet.

One can hardly blame the couple for deciding to make moves and subvert some of the red tape that is centuries of royal protocol. Meghan and Harry have had a hard time dodging media scrutiny since they married in May 2018, and with the birth of their baby Archie, the situation has only gotten more intense.

While the Palace sounds less than thrilled with the current situation in the U.K., there are plenty of people that are over the moon for Meghan and her hubby as they begin their new journey.