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SPLIT HEIRS
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry to SPLIT from charity set up with Prince William and Kate
THE FAB Four of Kate, William, Harry and Meghan are set to split.
In the latest development of the royal rift, the Sussexes are about to break away from the couples’ joint charity, the Royal Foundation.
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The young royals were dubbed the “Fab Four” after they appeared together on stage together last spring for their charity’s first Q&A forum – in what was supposed to be an annual event.
But just 15 months after their first and only joint appearance, the Sun can reveal the two couples will go their own way and pursue their charities separately.
Royal aides have been quick to point out that it’s not the end for the four of them working on individual projects together.
But it’s a major blow for the Royal Foundation, which Meghan only officially joined after her wedding last May, which had intended to harness the star power of all four.
And it comes after Harry and Meghan broke away from Kate and William’s household at Kensington Palace to establish their own.
They also moved to Windsor instead of moving into the apartment next door to the Cambridges, as revealed by the Sun last year.
A royal source said: “Things did get very bad between the brothers and they didn’t see each other privately for a number of months after the royal wedding.
“Certainly the animosity over status, money and Meghan meant that the split in their joint households had to be brought forward much more quickly than anticipated, so perhaps it was inevitable that their joint charity has to be split too.
“Meghan and Harry want to do things differently to William and Kate. William is the future king and so is sometimes restricted in what he can do.
“The Sussexes want the flexibility of more commercial decisions. But the brothers’ relationship has vastly improved since their working lives have separated.”
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COMPLEX PROCEDURE
Another source said: “The couples have been given two options – the first is to leave things as they are and the second a complete split.
“Nothing has been formally ratified but all the mood music is suggesting the Sussexes will break away.
“The Sussexes weren't in a rush to make any changes, but the Cambridges were. However it’s a complex procedure and very sensitive.
“The Cambridges have definite constitutionally-bound roots, and now the Sussexes have married and started a family, with the Duchess being American, they have more freedom.
“Nothing will be done quickly and it’ll be a phased untangling of many of the joint initiatives, not an overnight chop”
The next Royal Foundation board meeting on 19 June is expected to confirm the split.
Wills, 36, and Harry, 34, established the Royal Foundation in 2009 to run all their charitable campaigns and ventures. Kate, 37, then joined when she became Duchess of Cambridge in 2011.
They would often appear as a trio at events, and the Foundation had huge successes with projects like the Invictus Games for inured veterans and the mental health Heads Together campaign.
The Cambridges and the Sussexes teamed up recently to launch Shout, a crisis text line, but crucially this was an independent project and not part of the Foundation.
A charity source said: “At the start of last year, the plan was that all four would work together and I really believed in them as the power of four.
'VERY SAD'
“The forum was going to be an annual event and last year’s was supposed to be the first of many. It’s very sad it’s going to end like this.”
The foursome carried out their first – and only – official engagement together at the Royal Foundation in February, where they asked by host Tina Daheley: “Do you ever have disagreements about things?”
Meghan looked down, Kate fiddled with her hair and William said: “Oh yes.”
“The last thing you disagreed on, how did you resolve it?” Daheley pressed.
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“Is it resolved? We don’t know!” William said. Perhaps it is now.
A spokesman for the Royal Foundation said: “There is a review under way and no decision has been taken.”
Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace declined to comment.
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