The statement has a lot of waffle but the significant bit is the stuff about working towards financial independence.
The gist of what they are saying is that they intend to make money which traditionally Royals don't do. They're also not making a firm commitment towards not accessing public funds either. They just make vague mentions they will try not to access them at an undefined point in the future.
They are saying that they want to drop the bits of being royal that they don't like: they want to be able to cash in on their position and don't want to do duties. But the bits they do like: the platform, the titles, the public money, the security, the housing, the influence and cachet.
There's been a lot of chatter lately from anti-Meghan tweeters who said MMs ultimate aim was to monetise their brand, pointing to barely concealed commercial plugs for products and the Sussexes recent decision to register a huge raft of product trademarks. I thought that was an incredibly far fetched idea but it now seems they're right.
She's only done 12 months of very lacklustre royal duties. Many parts of which she spent bemoaning her own personal perceived misfortunes. She's never shown any particular enthusiasm for the UK or its population. And it's not like she seems to have made much of an effort to stick it out, they've only been married 18 months and a lot of that has been maternity leave or holidays.
An ordinary woman in her position would be looking at paying everything back to her employer received during mat leave except for stat mat. I think the taxpayer has a right to feel aggrieved about any continued funding for a couple who aren't doing the full job but are taking up money making opportunities elsewhere.
It's not going to work the way they want it to. It's not clear if this step has been approved by other more senior royals. But the won't last like that. If MM ends up hawking paste copies of the Crown Jewels on QVC and he's doing plugs for Land Rovers they'll have to choose between the two.
They can't have positions they will use for their own personal financial gain whilst refusing to fully carry out the duties of that position.