LIKE all those who try to escape the clutches of a sect, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle will encounter great difficulties trying to make it on their own. Be assured of this, though, no matter what sort of tawdry arrangement is reached to maintain the smooth running of the royal gravy train we, the idiot taxpayers, will continue to get stiffed.

Mr and Mrs Sussex’s desire to become “financially independent” like the common people is admirable and it surely behoves all of us who admire the Royal Family’s selfless devotion to the country to help them achieve this happy state. Most of those who have become unemployed and have no immediate prospect of another secure income are compelled to introduce a measure of austerity between jobs. This shouldn’t be a problem for the Sussexes.

The duchess brought a few million to the union following a successful acting career in the United States while Harry inherited £7m from his mother, the late Princess Diana and £3m from his dear old Granny Betty, the Queen Mother. When you throw in the annual £2.5m the couple have been receiving from Prince Charles the rocky road to financial independence becomes a little less so. If this couple really are genuine about seeking financial independence as the term is understood by the rest of us then the transition from ornamental popinjays to tax-paying citizens and cutting their cloth accordingly shouldn’t present them with many difficulties.

And if they were to feel that a £60k estimated annual rental of their £2.5m Frogmore Cottage home is a bit steep then nothing’s stopping them moving into a more modest home, perhaps something in the more manageable £1m category. Hell, why not push the boat out and see about taking out a mortgage? I’m sure also that Meghan could make a few commercials to tide them over while her husband finds his feet.

Harry, like the rest of the royals, has no obvious talents and may find it difficult to source suitably paid employment by his own endeavours. This family isn’t exactly blessed with charisma or discernible leadership skills. And such dubious qualifications we’re all led to believe they gained on their own haven’t been tested in any workplace where promotion and status is gained on merit.

In the UK, though, where deference, supplication and genuflection to this family is almost absolute, Harry shouldn’t find much difficulty in obtaining a few non-executive directorships. Just so long as he’s not expected to exhibit flair at anything in particular. I’d be less confident about paid speaking engagements, mind you.

The anger that this has all caused within the Royal Family is easy to understand and the corgis must be having a torrid time of it right now. The royal lackeys in the right-wing press suggest that, having granted them their multi-million pound wedding; their beautiful home and royal titles, the firm is aghast at Harry and Meghan’s ingratitude. I feel their pain. The long-term implications of the couple’s new-found sense of freedom for the House of Windsor are seriously catastrophic. If this couple can look after themselves then why can’t the rest of them?

If you believe the UK Government, the task of extricating a nation of 65 million souls and thousands of laws from the European Union will take barely a year. Removing the public teat from the mouths of this gilded outfit and finding them suitable careers advice shouldn’t be too onerous. After that it becomes a matter of taking the assorted royal palaces and castles back into public ownership.

Perhaps the younger members of the Royal Family could put their knowledge of these places to good use and become tour guides. Being a reasonable chiel I’d perhaps permit them to hang on to one of the royal residences and convert it into an eventide home for royal codgerdom. I’d only stipulate that once a year they agree to a fly-on-the-wall Christmas special for the BBC, presented by Nicholas Witchell whom Prince Charles once described as “that awful man”.

A quantum of mince has been written about the Duchy of Cornwall, the inherited vehicle by which Prince Charles ‘earns’ his multi-million-pound income. This huge estate makes the prince the biggest landowner in England and we are asked to believe the lie that it also makes him self-sufficient. As Harry and Meghan obtain the bulk of their income from the duchy then the lie extends to them too.

The Duchy of Cornwall was established in 1337 by Edward III as a gift to his son, Edward, Prince of Wales, also known as The Black Prince. The Prince of Wales does not extract his millions from this vast landholding through any merit or talent of his own. He is able to employ squads of professionals to help him and give credence to the subsistence lie.

Only the oldest surviving son of the monarch gets to use it as his own personal cash cow. No women can get their mitts on it and no Catholics either. In 21st century Britain we allow this family of property thieves to prevent Catholics contaminating their bloodline, unless of course they first renounce their faith.

Our maintenance of this family in their palaces and their multi-million pound lifestyles mocks any pretensions this country has to values of equality, justice and honesty. For how can we proclaim these virtues and propel our young people towards them when we permit medieval feudalism and grievous discrimination to flourish at the heart of British society?

We always want the next generation to learn from the mistakes of past ones and to become better than us. This, though, becomes a pointless exercise when we seem to celebrate and bow down to the Royal Family and its ancient, unearned privileges. Here, mediocrity is rewarded; entitlement is encouraged and true merit is scorned.

If Prince Harry and Meghan Markel genuinely want to decouple from this seedy fiefdom then I wish them every success. The nation won’t be convinced, though, until we see a set of accounts that doesn’t include income from the civil list or the spoils of 14th century conquest. And until we lose the rest of them Britain will never be entitled to call itself a modern, civilised country.