Prince Harry Won't Lose Sentebale Patronage Amid Speculations Queen Elizabeth Will Drop Sussexes
Sentebale is still sticking it out with Prince Harry amid reports that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will lose all of their royal patronages as Queen Elizabeth decides on their "probation."
The HIV and AIDS children's charity, which Harry co-founded in 2006, released a statement confirming that the Duke of Sussex remains "fully committed" and will still serve as the royal patron.
Sentebale works with vulnerable kids in Botswana, Lesotho and Malawi. With Harry staying on, the organization expects the royal to continue the legacy of his mother, Princess Diana, who helped thousands of kids with HIV and AIDS when she was still alive.
The confirmation comes as insiders said Queen Elizabeth is expected to strip off Harry and Meghan from all of their royal patronages and the duke's military roles. When Harry and Meghan left the royal fold in 2020, these roles were put on hold for 12 months to see if the Sussex pair could thrive as financially independent, non-working royals.
The source said that the probationary period, which was supposed to end on March 31, could come sooner after the pair confirmed they will do a sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey. Sources said, however, that Harry and Meghan might still retain their titles as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
As a result of the end of their probation, Harry will lose his patronage of the London Marathon, the Rugby Football Union and the Rugby Football League. Meghan, on the other hand, will lose her patronage of the National Theatre.
Harry and Meghan might also be removed as the President and Vice-President of the Commonwealth Trust. Meghan's patronage of the Association of Commonwealth Universities could also be taken out. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex received all these patronages as a gift from Queen Elizabeth.
Meanwhile, sources said that the final decision regarding Harry's military appointments are trickier to decide as the duke has been a good ambassador for the United Kingdom. It's widely known that Harry is very proud of his time in the military, where he served the country for 10 years.
During the probationary period, the Queen deferred assigning anyone to the military posts Harry would potentially vacate. According to The Times, Harry is completely saddened about giving up his military roles. However, the Queen cannot expect the Sussex pair to be half-in, half-out as working royals, especially when military assignments require the Duke of Sussex to be based in the U.K. (Business Times)