Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, are breaking free of the royal family starting March 31, the couple's office said Wednesday.

The royal couple stunned Britain with an abrupt announcement in January that they wanted to step back from royal duties. Prince Harry said he was taking a "leap of faith" in the move in an attempt to build a more peaceful life — one free of the journalists who have filmed, photographed and written about him since the day he was born.

Harry and Meghan will no longer use the titles His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness but will retain them, leaving the possibility that the couple might change their minds and return sometime in the future.

Harry's late mother, Diana, was stripped of the Her Royal Highness title when she and Prince Charles divorced.

The couple also may not be able to use the word "Royal" for their new venture, according to a royal source. Discussions are still underway but the likely direction is that the term will not be a part of the Sussex's branding.

When they announced they were stepping away from royal duties, it emerged that couple had submitted an application for a UK trademark for the term "Sussex Royal," covering hundreds of items under the categories of printed matter, clothing, campaigning, charitable fundraising, education and social care services.

However an aide to the Queen warned the Duke and Duchess against using the term, The Times of London newspaper reported earlier this month.

"I don't think it's satisfactory. One cannot be two things at once. You either are [royal] or you're not," Thomas Woodcock, Garter King of Arms, told the publication. Woodcock said he was speaking in a personal capacity.

"It is such unusual times that it is a matter of waiting and seeing how things develop," he added.

The prince and his wife will walk away from most royal duties, give up public funding and try to become financially independent. The couple, who were named the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their wedding day, are expected to spend most of their time in Canada while maintaining a home in England, near Windsor Castle.

The couple's departure is a wrench for the royal family, and Queen Elizabeth II said at the time that she wished the couple had wanted to remain full-time royals.

Despite the unprecedented move, the couple will keep the themes of their public work — the Commonwealth, community, youth empowerment and mental health, collectively.

Harry's priorities remain supporting the welfare of servicemen and women, conservation, sport for social development and HIV. Meghan's focus remains women's empowerment, gender equality and education.