U . S. President Donald Trump on Friday said the decision by Britain’ s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan to step back from royal duties was “ sad . ”

Trump sent the “ strong message ” to Britain’ s Queen Elizabeth II in an interview with Fox .
Britain’ s Queen Elizabeth II , who is Harry ’ s grandmother , was reportedly not consulted before the pair announced their decision to seek a lower profile , build financial independence and divide their time between Britain and North America .

“ I don ’ t want to get into the whole thing . I just have such respect for the Queen I don ’ t think this should be happening to her , ” Trump added in an interview with Fox News that was partially aired on Friday.

The couple said they plan to restrict media access and withdraw from a rota system for press coverage of the royal family.

Buckingham Palace said discussions were ongoing with the couple, who are officially known as the duke and duchess of Sussex .

The surprise announcement came after they had denounced intrusive and inaccurate media reporting , as well as the vitriol directed toward them on social media , including racist attacks against U . S. -born Meghan, whose mother is black .

In an interview last year with the British newspaper The Sun , Trump called Meghan “ nasty” after finding out that she did not support his election .

( dpa /NAN )