'Megxit' is already the word of the year and the jokes are incredible

The world is still reeling after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did what many wished they could post-Christmas and essentially quit their family.

The Royal Family are said to be “hurt” and royal correspondents everywhere are apparently “job-seeking”.

But the internet did not stay blindsided for long and soon began putting its collective brainstorming power towards doing what it does best: irreverent jokes.

Enter the new word of 2020: Megxit.

Some joked that the couple’s decision to “step back as senior royals” was motivated by wanting to avoid certain upcoming family occasions – or just the family in general.

Others saw parallels between the royal situation and beloved BBC sitcoms.

The news also came as a pleasant surprise to members of republican groups, which campaign for an elected head of state.

One branch, the Australian Republic Movement even reached out to the couple to offer them free membership of the cause, given their seeming commitment to living as civilians.

Helpful members of the public also suggested a bold new career path for the couple: lifestyle influencers.

It’s not an utterly wild take, given Meghan ran a lifestyle blog called The Tigprior to meeting Harry. Plus the pair made their shock announcement on Instagram with a ‘Link in bio’ caption – they’re basically three snaps away from breaking out the ‘#ad’ tags.

And for anyone inspired by the royal couple’s example who is thinking of quitting their miserable job — maybe take quick stock of whether your coffers are quite as healthy as theirs before going “financially independent”.

That’s quite the retirement fund…