Britain's Prince Harry told attendees at a charity event Sunday that his break with the royal family deeply saddened him, but that he and wife Meghan Markle felt they had no other option.
"Our hope was to continue serving the queen, the Commonwealth and my military associations without public funding," said Harry to an audience at a charity lunch, according to Reuters. "Sadly, that wasn't possible."
He said he did not do so lightly, and that the drastic outcome should point to the lack of options the couple had had when they announced abruptly earlier this month that they would step back from their roles as senior royals and pursue an "independent life."
"I've accepted this knowing it doesn't change who I am, or how committed I am," he said, according to Reuters. "But I hope that helps you understand what it had come to, that I would step back from all I have ever known to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life."
