Harry and Meghan apparently didn't even tell the queen about their exit from the royal family

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's break with the royal family? Well, it's complicated.

Harry and Meghan announced Wednesday they were distancing themselves from the royals and moving toward financial independence, even outlining their economic plan on their Sussex royals website. It sounded like a pretty thought-out and heavily discussed plan — until the rest of the royal family essentially said they had no idea it was coming.

In a statement issued a bit later, Buckingham Palace said "discussions" with Harry and Meghan "are at an early stage," and that these "complicated issues ... will take time to work through."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"No other royal — including the queen or Prince William — was consulted before the statement," BBC later reported. And as BBC's Jonny Dymond soon added, the senior royals were "disappointed" and "hurt" by everything that just went down.