The Queen expressed her regret at Meghan and Harry’s choice to resign as senior royals, saying that “we would have preferred them to remain full-time working members of the royal family”

“We respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family.”

According to royal historian and biographer of the Queen, Robert Lacey, the monarch’s speech was “incredibly personal.”

“I can’t recall a royal statement where one gets the sense so much of the Queen herself speaking,” he tells PEOPLE. “Using phrases like ‘my family and I’ is very moving. It clearly shows her wish to resolve everything.”

Queen agrees ‘transition’ to new role for Harry and Meghan

After “constructive discussions”, the Queen decided to allow Prince Harry and Meghan to relocate to Canada on a part-time basis for a “period of transition.”

Following a crisis meeting of senior royals at the Queen’s Sandringham estate north of London, the Queen said that Prince Harry and Meghan would be able to spend their time between the UK and Canada, but that “complex matters” would need to be addressed. The monarch stated that she has directed that final plans be drawn up within the following few days.

“These are complex matters for my family to resolve, and there is some more work to be done, but I have asked for final decisions to be reached in the coming days,” she said.

“My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family,” the queen said in a statement. “Harry and Meghan have made clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives. It has therefore been agreed that there will be a period of transition in which the Sussexes will spend time in Canada and the U.K.”

“Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family.”

No additional information about the meeting’s outcomes has been provided.

The meeting was convened in response to the couple’s shocking declaration last week that they intended to stand down as senior members of the royal family.

Charles, Prince of Wales, met with Queen Elizabeth II and his two sons, Princes William and Harry, at the Norfolk country home to discuss the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s future. Meghan is said to have joined the conversation over the phone from Canada, where she is with her son Archie.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Global News that there had been “no discussions” about the couple’s decision, including security concerns and the possible impact on Canadian taxpayers.

The encounter took place on a turbulent day for the royals. Prior to the meeting, Princes William and Harry rejected a UK tabloid report stating that William’s “bullying attitude” was to blame for the family’s divisions. The princes declared in a joint statement that the news was “false.”

“For brothers who care so deeply about the issues surrounding mental health, the use of inflammatory language in this way is offensive and potentially harmful,” the statement said, without naming the paper.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced last Wednesday on social media and their new website that they will spend their time between North America and the United Kingdom as they “carve out a progressive new role within this institution.”

Although no other family members were informed regarding the announcement’s timing, the duke and duchess stated that it occurred after “many months of reflection and internal discussions”