Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, said they are planning “to step back” as senior members of the royal family.

The relationship between Britain’s royals and the media is awkward, mistrustful — and seemingly inescapable. But now Meghan and Harry want out.

After years of growing tension with the press, the prince and his wife have announced plans to quit their senior royal duties, move part-time to North America, seek financial independence and withdraw from media scrutiny.

The couple — who have complained of intrusive news coverage and accused some British commentators of racism — slammed the country’s long-standing arrangements for royal media coverage, saying they prefer to communicate directly with the public through social media.

The British press was stung by the snub, reacting Thursday with articles, columns and editorials that ranged from disappointment to fury.

The Daily Mirror said in an editorial that the couple’s failure to tell Harry’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth II about their plans “shows shocking disregard for a woman whose entire life has been ruled by a sense of public duty and honor.” The Times of London accused Harry of “petulance and hot-headedness,” while the Daily Mail said the couple wanted “the status of being ‘senior’ royals but the privacy and freedom of being private citizens.”

The Sun and the New York Post both described the departure as “Megxit,” a play on Brexit, Britain’s impending departure from the European Union.

The 93-year-old monarch moved Thursday to take control of the situation. Britain’s national news agency, Press Association, reported the queen had ordered officials representing the monarch, Charles, Prince William, and Harry and Meghan to meet and find “workable solutions” within “days not weeks.”

Harry and Meghan’s shock announcement drew comparisons to the abdication of the queen’s uncle King Edward VIII, who gave up the throne in 1936 to marry divorced American Wallis Simpson. Once again, waspish commentators noted, an American woman has caused a ruction in the royal family.

The move by Harry and Meghan dominated the news in Britain, and divided opinion. Some blamed Meghan for the troubles. A social media storm compared her to Yoko Ono, the widow of Beatles singer John Lennon, who was blamed for the breakup of the famous band.

Others offered sympathy for the queen, who remains a revered figure.

“We don’t mind them having an ordinary life. What we don’t like is the queen not being informed about nothing,” said royal superfan John Loughrey, adding that the British public did not want to see the royal couple “isolated” abroad.

“It is a crisis,” he said. “We have got a crisis here. Seriously.”