The abdication of Prince Henry Charles Albert David
Prince Henry, to use the name he was given at birth, is not the King and this is not the Abdication Crisis of 1936.
But this weekend, we witnessed Harry’s and Meghan’s own abdication from the Monarchy.
They remain members of the family, of course: Harry is still the Queen’s grandson and Archie is still her great-grandson.
But this weekend, they have set in motion a complete change in their future, from working members of the Royal Family, to a couple who will lead independent lives.
In every sense, this was an exit from the Royal Family by Harry and Meghan
Duke and Duchess of Sussex stop using HRH titles and repay £2.4m
They will pay rent, they will return the money for the renovation of their home in Windsor, they will stop getting public money from the Sovereign Grant and they will spend the majority of their time in Canada and the US.
And it will all start in the Spring when the changes take effect.
But there will be many who will mourn the departure of this particular couple.
I spoke to the boss of one charity very close to Harry after the announcement.
They said they were “very sad” and personally “gutted” that it has come to this.
They wait to see what Harry’s commitment will be, or can be, once the new arrangements kick in.
Harry will stay in touch with the charities he feels closest to, and the events he is invested in, like the Invictus Games.
But his life will now be very different.
His father, Prince Charles, will provide funds from his private income for Harry, Meghan and Archie but it’s now looking likely Archie will be schooled in North America, so the time he lived in the UK was, in the end, very short.
What stood out for me yesterday was Harry relinquishing his military titles - especially the Captain General of the Royal Marines, which was passed to him from his grandfather, Prince Philip.
But courtiers from all the Palaces came to the conclusion there was no half-in, half-out model that was workable for the British Army or Royal Navy.
How could he be the ceremonial head of a regiment here in the UK - and yet spend more time in Canada each year?
Security costs remain unresolved but it’s not a negotiation the Palace is going to have in the public domain.
Royal sources would only say that long-standing procedures are in place to protect public figures (former Prime Ministers and Home Secretaries still get security paid from public funds for example).
But in the long-term, Canada will have to decide if it wants to take on the costs of protecting the Sussexes.
Last week, a security firm which works with celebrities and foreign royals told us the estimated cost of a protection package for a couple like Harry and Meghan would be just shy of £2 million per year.
Unlike Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, the constitutional implications in this case are less severe.
Diana was due to be Queen consort to a future King Charles.
And significantly, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have not been ‘stripped’ of their HRH style in the way in which his mother was.
The Sussexes will stop using HRH – but they do keep the titles.
Meanwhile, as a direct descendant of the Queen, Harry will remain sixth in line to the Throne.
But he will do so from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Where he hopes he will find that ‘happy and peaceful new life’, to use the words of The Queen.