It was officially announced on Thursday that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would be separating from a joint charity that they once shared with Prince William and Kate Middleton. Moving forward, The Royal Foundation will be headed by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge while offering transitional support to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as they establish their own foundation. However, royal followers may be wondering what was behind the decision to take separate paths moving forward.

Initially, The Royal Foundation, established in 2009, was created in order to assist Prince William and Prince Harry with their charitable ambitions. The intention was to use the organization as the main channel to support appropriate grants. Middleton joined the effort in 2011, shortly before becoming the Duchess of Cambridge, and in 2018, Markle stepped into a role when she married Prince Harry.

As reported by The Sun, an official statement said that the "Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wish to build on The Foundation's past successes" and that they are developing new initiatives. However, rumors of underlying rifts between the two Duchesses and royal brothers have been plaguing the news of the separation.

Duncan Larcombe, a royal commentator, shared his take on the matter, as reported by The Sun. "They [Prince Harry and Meghan Markle] are actively trying to create their own team. Kate fell into the royal family over a long period of time. Who would Kate be without Prince William? She certainly wouldn't be well-known," he stated Thursday.

Continuing, he added, "Meghan without Harry would have been well-known, so she's bound to have more opinions about her PR, how they promote themselves as a couple, what they do with their kids." This left Larcombe to conclude that their actions demonstrate that Meghan and Harry feel comfortable in doing things their own way.

The commentator also assessed that given Meghan's celebrity background, she is more likely to take control of how she is publicly perceived and be less inclined to take a back seat as Kate does. "Meghan is no shrinking violet, she's not going to sit back and take Harry's lead on everything," he stated. "She had a million Instagram followers before she met Harry. Kate didn't. So there's going to be a difference."

As reported by Hello!, this division seems to have been reflected in recent correspondence before the official announcement. When William and Kate sent thank you notes their letter was addressed from "The Office of THR The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge," whereas that line previously read, "The Office of THR The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and THR The Duke and Duchess of Sussex."

This decision to dissolve the existing structure comes on the heels of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex breaking away from their offices in Kensington Palace. With all of the apparent unrest, fans of the royal family are sure to be in for more developments as time progresses.

Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton
Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle attend day twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 14, 2018, in London. Getty Images/Clive Mason
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