Queen Elizabeth has reacted to the announcement that her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle are planning to “step back as senior members of the Royal Family.”

Her reactions came just hours after Harry and Meghan shared their plans to “carve out a progressive new role,” on their verified Instagram account on Wednesday night. 

However, Queen Elizabeth, 93, said the conversation is still in “early” stages.

The Queen’s office of Buckingham Palace said in a statement: “Discussions with The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage. We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through.” 

In addition to redefining their royal roles, Harry and Meghan had declared they will keep supporting the queen but plan to become financially independent from the Crown. 

The royal couple also desire to move to North America, where they will spend their time when they are not in the U.K.

“We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages,” they wrote on Instagram. “This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity.

“We look forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course, as we continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties. Until then, please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support.”