Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s 2020 in review
Meghan and Harry’s departure from the Firm, first announced 12 months ago, triggered a seismic shift behind Palace walls. Their declaration of independence was unexpected and forced the Palace onto the backfoot. Aside from a handful of statements explaining what Meghan and Harry’s post-royal life would be like, the Firm has remained schtum on any matters relating to the Sussexes.
It has maintained that they are now private individuals who do not represent the Queen in any capacity.
However, Palace insiders appeared to change their stance during the Christmas break as they addressed some of the Sussex reports.
Royal insiders have provided a snippet of what the Palace might think about Meghan’s upcoming privacy case against Associated Newspapers, which is expected to go to trial later this year.
One senior source told royal correspondent Roya Nikkhah: “A trial would be traumatic for Meghan and Harry, it will expose Palace operations, members of staff would be dragged into it on the witness stands…it would be deeply uncomfortable for the institution.”
The Palace has not officially commented on the Duchess of Sussex’s decision to sue the publishers, even though she first announced it in October 2019.
Meghan Markle, Prince Harry and Queen Elizabeth II (Image: Getty)
Meghan and Harry have been out of the royal fold since March last year (Image: Getty)
Yet, the legal move clearly showed a departure from royal protocol, even down to the couple’s decision to reject the trusted royal lawyer Gerrard Tyrrell — they instead opted for Schillings.
This firm has a reputation for handling celebrity clients who are frustrated with the media.
A source told day Times: “Before Harry and Meghan pulled the trigger, we wanted to walk them through what it would look like if it went all the way [to trial] and to face up to that.”
This surprising insight followed hot on the heels of other Palace insiders who spoke out against a story which surfaced in November.
Harry reportedly requested for a wreath to be placed at the Cenotaph on his behalf during the Royal Family’s annual gathering to honour Remembrance Sunday.
All other senior royals who used to be part of the military lay a wreath, and Harry has done in the past — but his request was allegedly rejected by the Queen.
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William and Charles laying a wreath for this year’s Remembrance service at the Cenotaph (Image: Getty)
Harry and Meghan took to the LA National Cemetery to honour Remembrance Sunday on their own, without the royals (Image: Getty)
Instead, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had a photoshoot of them marking the occasion at Los Angeles National Cemetery and laying a wreath at the graves of two Commonwealth soldiers.
Two months after such reports first emerged, Palace aides have claimed: “People were suggesting the Palace’s reaction to what Harry asked was petty.
“But it was the Queen’s decision.
“And what’s more, she actually had very strong views on the subject.”
Another said that while the monarch “has enormous admiration” for Harry’s achievements, this request was “seen as an example of his lack of understanding at what it means for him to be a non-working royal”.
They added: “The Queen is very firmly of the opinion that you can’t pick and choose what you do when it comes to the institution.
“Either you are in — or you are out.”
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Harry and Meghan on their tour of Southern Africa, when they announced Meghan’s intention to sue Associated Newspapers (Image: Getty)
Kate, William, Meghan and Harry for Christmas 2018, the last time they spent the festive period together (Image: Getty)
Following both of these reports, royal fan account @RoyalTea tweeted: “The royal PR strategy right now seems to be ‘everyone is on break, there is no work to distract from, so let’s correct every single story the Sussexes have leaked/been involved with by sharing our side with [a] different outlet they are suing each day.”
However, it remains to be seen how the Palace will handle the Sussexes now the royals are back at work.
Implications of a rift between the two parties continue.
Many spotted that with the launch of the couple’s new website, Archewell, there was reference to Harry’s connection to his late mother, Princess Diana, who was a celebrated humanitarian by the time of her death in 1997.
Yet, there was no mention of his father Prince Charles even though he is thought to have been the first to provide financial backing to the couple when they first dropped out of the Firm.
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Royal biographer, Angela Levin, also noted that there was a perceived slight towards the royals’ in the Sussexes’ first episode of their new Archewell Audio podcast series.
She explained in The Telegraph that there is “no mention of the upset prompted by the couple’s unexpected departure from royal life last January” — even though the episode asks for “courage, healing and connection”.
It is not yet known if Harry’s reported plea for an extension to the 12-month review for the Sussexes’ post-royal life has been accepted.
