The Real Reason Meghan And Harry Are Expected To Receive These Medals From The Queen

We know that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle appear to be squarely on the outs with the rest of their royal family, so we understand why it seems a bit surprising that they would be receiving any kind of honor from the queen at the moment. And yet, it appears that Queen Elizabeth will be giving the two ex-royals medals at her Jubilee ceremony, according to People. 

While the queen may be a stickler for royal protocol (obviously), Meghan and Harry certainly are not. Just a few short years after their marriage, the two decided to step down from their official royal duties — quit being royal, basically. And on top of this already highly unusual move, the couple went even roguer still by giving a truly no-holds barred interview with Oprah Winfrey. The "Firm" is usually extremely tight-lipped when it comes to family affairs, so it was pretty shocking to hear the Sussexes lay it all out there in the interview. Meghan described feeling abandoned by the family when the press was tearing her apart, getting no support when her mental health was drastically low, and experiencing some subtle and not-so-subtle racism.

So, why are they still getting these medals again?

As we said, the queen loves her some royal protocol. Even though Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are no longer "official" royals, they are still members of the royal family, and the queen is allowed to give Jubilee medals to whom she chooses. A royal source reportedly told People, "In common with previous jubilees, it is likely that wider members of the royal family would receive the Platinum Jubilee." 

In addition to the medals given out to public servants like members of the military, the queen apparently also pays for a number of medals herself to distribute to members of her family. Whether or not the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are professionally royal, they are still family after all. 

To be clear, Meghan and Harry would be receiving Platinum Jubilee medals as a gift, not as an award, as is granted to honorary members of the military. Since Prince Harry gave up his honorary military titles, he's not eligible for the award, according to The Telegraph. Seems like a minor distinction to us, but what do we know — we're Americans.