The Queen on Monday night expressed her regret as she confirmed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would lose public funding and move to Canada to “transition” to a new life.

In an unprecedented personal statement, the 93-year-old monarch confirmed that the couple were no longer “full-time working members of the Royal family”.

She admitted that she would have “preferred” the Sussexes to stay, but insisted she understood and supported their “wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family”.

Amid speculation that the Duke and Duchess could yet lose their titles, the Queen referred to the royal couple as “Harry and Meghan” and “the Sussexes” as she revealed they had “made clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives”.