From the very first moment the world learned of the relationship between Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, the couple have been under the spotlight.
Starting from their glamorous wedding which was broadcast and seen by more than 29.19 million viewers, to the birth of their son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor in 2019, to stepping down from their royal duties, the Sussex Royals’ every move has been closely followed by the media. That same media which “forced” them to leave the U.K. and move to the States.
When they announced their decision to step down from their royal duties, the spokesperson of Harry and Meghan said in a statement: “As evidenced by their work over the past year, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the U.K. and around the world, and have offered their continued support to the organisations they have represented regardless of official role.”
However, Queen Elizabeth herself had “written confirming that in stepping away from the work of the Royal Family, it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service,” the announcement by the palace said. It added: “While all are saddened by their decision, the Duke and Duchess remain much loved members of the family.”
U.K. media, as well as many influential international magazines, have slammed their decision to split from the royal family, but both Harry and Meghan believed it was the best thing to do when it came to their family. During the Oprah interview that caused a stir on the social media, Harry once again defended their decision to move from Britain because he didn’t want “history repeating itself,” referring to his late mother.
According to Meghan, before the split with the Firm, she and Harry allegedly asked for a permission to move to another country in the Commonwealth, perhaps South Africa or Canada. However, the answer was a resounding no.
“Anything to just … because just by existing, we were upsetting the dynamic of the hierarchy. So we go, ‘Okay, fine, let’s get out of here. Happy to,’” Meghan recalled during a recent interview with The Cut.
Saying that other Royal Family members had gotten the green light for the same arrangement, she added,“That, for whatever reason, is not something that we were allowed to do, even though several other members of the family do that exact thing.”
Recently, it has been revealed that the Sussexes weren’t in fact planning of leaving Britain permanently. Their initial plan was to take a year off from their duties so that Meghan could take a break from the pressure by the British tabloids and Harry could be given the opportunity to pursue his love for Africa.
“Soon after the Queen and Prince Philip married, they’d lived in Malta, while William and Kate started married life in Anglesey,” author Valentine Low writes in Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown.
“Harry and Meghan could also go away for a while, said Manning. A year in South Africa seemed the obvious choice. A paper was written outlining the options, and the couple were said to like the idea of a year in Africa.”
“Manning also looked to other royal couples and how they spent their time before royal life completely took over,” The Mirror reports.
“Money and security were probably the two big problems that scuppered it,” Low added.
“It ran into the sand. ‘The problems were real, and there was not a willingness to find the resources.’”
Harry and Meghan told Oprah, during the infamous all-tell interview, they wanted to continue representing the Queen as non-senior-royals and relocate to another country within the Commonwealth and that is why they lived in Canada shortly before moving to the States.
“We were saying, ‘okay, if this isn’t working for everyone, we’re in a lot of pain, you can’t provide us with the help we need, we can just take a step back. We can do it in a Commonwealth country, we suggested New Zealand, South Africa,” Meghan said in the interview.
Royal expert Andrew Morton, author of Diana: Her True Story, claimed that the Sussexes might question leaving the royal family early on during their marriage.
Days after the wedding, Jonny Dymond, the BBC’s royal correspondent, felt something was off.
“I mean, within days, really …There were stories coming out about how Megan behaved towards staff,” he said in the BBC documentary The Prince and the Press.
Camilla Tominey, who first broke the story of Harry and Meghan’s relationship, added, “We were getting briefings that all was not well, with the relationship between William and Harry, Meghan, and Kate, and the relationship between Harry and Meghan and the royal household.”
The relationship between the Sussexes and the members of the Firm because even worse and reached its lowest point after the publishing of Harry’s memoir Spare in which he revealed plenty of information about the royals, which caused anger at his family.
Among the rest, Harry wrote that he and Meghan had to leave. Reminiscing about a visit to Frogmore Cottage after Prince Philip’s funeral, Harry said: “How beautiful it all is, I thought. And also how sad.
“Once upon a time, this was going to be my forever home. Instead, it had proved to be just another brief stop.”
He added: “When my wife and I fled this place, in fear for our sanity and physical safety, I wasn’t sure when I’d ever come back. That was January 2020. Now, fifteen months later, here I was, days after waking to thirty-two missed calls and then one short, heart-racing talk with Granny: Harry… Grandpa’s gone.”
What King Charles was said to have done a day after the book was published was evict his younger son and his wife from Frogmore Cottage, Harry and Meghan’s UK home which they previously renovated.
When Harry learned of his father’s decision, he was disappointed.
“Harry and Meghan have until early summer to vacate,” a source told Omar Scobie, who’s known to be close to the Sussexes, reported for Yahoo at the time. “Initially, they were given just weeks, but now they have at least until after the coronation.”
“It all feels very final and like a cruel punishment,” a friend of Harry and Meghan’s added. “It’s like [the family] wants to cut them out of the picture for good.”
As Harry doesn’t have a place to stay when in Britain, royal experts claim he’s looking to buy a “permanent” place back home.
According to Tom Quinn, Harry misses his army and college friends dearly. Sadly, they haven’t visited him in California because “they don’t get on with Meghan.” As a result, it’s been reported that the Duke is now looking for a “permanent” home in the UK.
“As time goes by, Harry misses some aspects of his old life in the UK. Inevitably, the honeymoon period where everything in the States is new and exciting is coming to an end and Harry is looking back at the past through rose-tinted spectacles,” Quinn told the Mirror.
He added: “He misses his Old Etonian and army friends, many of whom have not visited as they don’t get on with Meghan. Harry is determined to find his own permanent home in the UK, which is partly why he’s continuing his legal action to get the British taxpayer to pay for his security.”
Second year in a row, Harry and Meghan weren’t invited to Trooping of Colour, and that felt hard for Harry.
“We know they wanted an apology from the Royal Family for how they were treated when they were senior working members of it,” Fitzwilliams told The Sun. “They certainly won’t get that. But I do think there will be a certain amount of regret.
“The military has been a very important part of his life, and I would have thought it only natural that [Harry] would have had a feeling of some regret [not being at Trooping the Colour].
“I think Meghan would be indifferent to a ceremony like Trooping the Colour quite frankly,” Fitzwilliams added.
“I have no idea whether she would or wouldn’t actually watch it, but I don’t think it would mean a great deal to her. If it had done, she would have managed to carve a position within the Royal Family where she could have been of use.”
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