Prince Harry and William: Expert on relations following ‘Megxit’
One year on from Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle’s exit from senior Royal Family life, sources close to the couple claim they “don’t regret” their decision. The anniversary was supposed to mark a moment where the likes of the Queen and Prince Harry would “review their agreement” on the terms of his exit, but due to the coronavirus pandemic it will be unable to go ahead. Their move to lead a “financially independent life” provoked anger within royal circles, particularly as Harry and Meghan made the announcement before informing the Queen.
The announcement, insiders said, upset the Queen, while Prince Charles was reportedly “furious” with the manner in which his son handled the split.
Yet once the dust settled, and an exit package was agreed, the Queen moved to ease tensions by having a one-on-one lunch with her grandson, where she made clear she would always be there for Harry.
According to 2020’s pro-Sussex biography Finding Freedom, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had “attempted to arrange a meeting with the Queen” before going public with their intentions.
Before leaving for Christmas in 2019, where they spent the festive period with young son Archie in Canada, they had hoped to speak with Her Majesty, yet she was unavailable until January 2020.
Queen confessed ‘she’d support him whatever’ after Harry snubbed her with Megxit (Image: GETTY)
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry chat with the Queen (Image: GETTY)
The couple, co-authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand say, grew concerned their plan would be leaked to the press, so opted to make the announcement themselves.
The Queen was “devastated by the news”, but vowed to maintain a close relationship with Harry.
The authors claimed “the Queen was still one of the most important women in Harry’s life”, and they decided to have an informal lunch “just granny and grandson”.
They added: “As they tucked into a roast lunch, the Queen made it clear to Harry that she would always support him in whatever he decided to do.”
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Prince Harry kisses his grandmother, the Queen (Image: GETTY)
A source close to the couple told People they had changed Royal Family history forever as they “took a huge leap of faith to embark on their new life”.
The source said: “Despite everything that has been going on this year, they don’t regret their move to the US.
“They love that they are able to focus on projects and causes that are important to them.”
However, as a result of their departure Harry was forced to lose his military titles, “the one truly disappointing result of the move away” from the royals.
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Harry and Meghan on their last senior royal duties (Image: GETTY)
Since leaving the UK for California last year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been able to exploit their profiles by securing a range of multi-million-pound deals with platforms such as Spotify and Netflix.
While active members of the Firm, the couple would have been unable to make a profit from their position, but they have since been able to attract a wealth of interest.
Yet, according to the Daily Mirror this week, the number of deals being accepted has led to some concern within Buckingham Palace.
The Queen looks after a young Prince Harry in 1988 (Image: GETTY)
An insider said: “There is undoubtedly a sense of unease over the pace at which they have entered the corporate world and the way in which they have conducted themselves relating to their various legal disputes.”
The source revealed that Harry had “not yet made contact” to arrange a meeting with his grandmother, but a new date for a review could be hashed out in weeks.
One of the main sticking points in Harry and Meghan’s exit strategy was over their use of anything representative of the Royal Family.
At the time, the couple had been using the phrase Sussex Royal on their social media channels and website – something the Queen demanded they give up.
Royal Family tree (Image: EXPRESS)
Thomas Woodcock, who is known as the Garter Principal of Arms, is tasked with ensuring royal symbols are not used in a commercial way, and told the couple they “were either in or out of the Royal Family” during an interview with The Times.
He added that “one can’t be two things at once”.
Harry and Meghan agreed to the terms, an insider said, as they were “so desperate to get out they had no choice”.
Finding Freedom was published by HarperCollins in 2020 and is available here.
