Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have announced they will no longer receive taxpayer handouts once they ditch royal life - but there is speculation that Prince Charles will still fund their privileged lifestyle. 

They are expected to continue to receive money from the Duchy of Cornwall via Prince Charles, which is currently thought to amount to £2.3 million a year.

As part of today's bombshell announcement this evening that they are giving up their royal roles, Buckingham Palace revealed Harry and Meghan would give up their Sovereign Grant money - which equates to some £100,000 a year.

The have also promised to repay the £2.4 million Sovereign Grant cash that was used for their Frogmore Cottage revamp.

Despite making no mention of being bankrolled by Prince Charles, it is understood he will continue to subsidise their expenses.

The Daily Mail's Royal Correspondent Rebecca English said Harry and Meghan will not receive any further public funding, "but will continue to receive funds from the Prince of Wales privately".

Previously, a former aide told the Daily Mail: "Prince Charles's attitude is always just pay what needs to be paid and move on.

"It's usually the path of least resistance when it's to do with the boys."

However, the Daily Mail's Richard Kay reported that those familiar with some of the eye-watering numbers which have crossed the royal desk at Clarence House say

One figure went so far as to say that the money he spends, not just on Harry and Meghan but also on financing William and Kate, was "draining him".

However, UK correspondent Enda Brady told the Weekend Collective he doesn't think Prince Charles will continue to fund them either.

"I think the Queen would have spoken to Charles at length in private, and I think Harry and Meghan made their decision." 

Officially, the brothers and their households are funded out of Charles's Duchy of Cornwall estate, but, in fact, the Prince has at times had to dip into his own private reserves.

At one stage he was paying the Sussexes more than William and his family.

That figure is now understood to be around the same, with Harry and William each receiving approximately £2.5 million.

However, the Prince has let it be known that his funds are not inexhaustible and that there is a limit to how far and how much he can pay.

Insiders speak of the "hundreds of thousands of pounds" the Prince made available to furnish the couple's Windsor home after their decision to abandon Kensington Palace.

According to a source, the figures involved in providing for both boys have in recent times been flagged up to the Prince by his accounting staff on more than one occasion.

"There's usually a raised eyebrow, but the Prince always just signs them off," says the source.

All the same, he has made it clear that while he will continue to fund his sons, there can be, as one courtier put it, "no blank cheque".

The couple will now be free to do any commercial deals they like and appear to be continuing their 'Sussex Royal' brand, even though they are no long Royal Highnesses.

If Meghan were to go back to acting she could be in for a princely sum of money, as she made £3million from appearing on American TV show Suits.

A source said the couple will spend the majority of their time in North America, and had not signed any commercial agreements as yet.