Palace aides reportedly think Meghan Markle and Prince Harry just violated their agreement

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down from their royal family roles this year after months of discussions.

The Sussex couple lost their HRH titles and their Sussex Royal brand and relocated to California, to prioritise their family of three and mental health over their former roles.

As former working royals, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex used to have their hands full with charity work, official tours and royal meetings. Now however, they will not act on behalf of the royal family.

Since their resignation, there has understandably been speculation around what this actually means and what the Sussex couple will do next, with rumours that they could be venturing into politics.

Yes, after years of being unable to voice their political opinions during their time in the royal family, Meghan and Harry are now making their voices heard, speaking out in a recent PSA about voting.

In a recent video for TIME, Meghan and Harry encouraged voters to ‘reject hate speech, misinformation, and online negativity’, telling viewers that the upcoming Presidential Election is ‘the most important election of our lifetime’.

Prince Harry then surprised viewers by opening up about how he has never been able to vote, impressing upon the public how important it is to have your say.

'This election I am not able to vote in the U.S. But many of you may not know that I haven't been able to vote in the U.K. my entire life,' he announced in the video. 'As we approach this November, it's vital that we reject hate speech, misinformation, and online negativity.'

He continued: 'When the bad outweighs the good, for many, whether we realize it or not, it erodes our ability to have compassion and our ability to put ourself in someone else's shoes. Because when one person buys into negativity online, the effects are felt exponentially. It's time to not only reflect, but act.'

This is something that has reportedly concerned palace aides, who apparently believe that this is a violation of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's agreement.

'The [royal] family are all wringing their hands, thinking: where is this going and does this abide by the deal to uphold the values of the Queen?', a royal aide reportedly told The Times via Insider. The feeling is it's a violation of the agreement.'

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have not yet responded.

Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.