Harry and Meghan: What next the royal couple?

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan, have announced that they will be stepping down from their senior royal duties.

As part of their new lifestyle they are planning to move to North America with baby Archie and say they will "work to become financially independent".

This means that they will no longer use some of the money given by the UK government to the Royal Family.

Very senior members of the Royal Family are not usually allowed to work in jobs outside of their duties, so this is a big step for the couple.

So this had us wondering where does their money come from and what will they do now?

Where does the Royal Family's money come from?

The Sovereign Grant

Much of the money spent by the Royal Family is to help keep good relationships with world leaders and other countries.

For example, they take part in national and international events, meeting with world leaders and hosting functions.

When they host important foreign leaders, this is often referred to as a state visit.

You can read more about what a state visit is here.

But to do all this they are given a set amount of money from the UK government - this money is called the Sovereign Grant.

It's thought this provides about 5% of Prince Harry and Meghan's income and they have said they will no longer take this money.

In 2018-19 the Royal Family were given £82 million to cover their duties and to cover major restoration to Buckingham Palace.

It's funded by profits from the Crown Estate.

The Crown Estate

The Crown Estate is property that belongs to the reigning monarch.

Today it covers lots of properties like houses and offices, as well as shops and businesses across the UK.

For example, Royal Ascot racecourse is one of the properties owned by the Crown Estate.

Currently, the Crown Estate is valued at £7.3 billion.

Any leftover profit from the estate goes to the government and the Royal Family receives an annual payment from that money - the Sovereign Grant.

The Prince of Wales

Prince Charles and Prince Harry

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex say that about 95% of their income comes from the Prince of Wales.

Prince Charles, who is Prince Harry's father, pays for the couple's public duties (as well as those of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) and some of their private costs.

Prince Charles' money comes from the income from the Duchy of Cornwall - that's a collection of property and financial investments.

However the couple already have lots of their own money with. Harry is thought to have millions of pounds from inheritance and Meghan was been a well-paid famous actor before she got married.

So what next for Harry and Meghan?

Although they will "step back" as senior royals, the couple said they will continue "to honour our duty to the Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages". But what does this mean?

Well, it seems they will still carry out official royal duties - but perhaps not quite so many. The Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge are looking into how this might work.

The pair were already preparing to launch their own Sussex Royal charity. And in December it was revealed they had plans to expand their Sussex Royal brand to books, calendars, clothing, charitable fundraising, education and social care services.

There have been suggestions they could even get new jobs now that they won't be senior royals - as well as her acting career, Meghan designed her own fashion line before marrying Harry.

But as one of the most famous couples in the world, lots of experts believe they will find it easy to make their own money.