Royal author Robert Lacey has revealed in his new book Battle of Brothers how the Queen intended to offer the Duke and the Duchess of Sussex a year or two in Africa. Her Majesty had secretly planned to allow the couple to take some time off their royal duties before they announced they wanted to quit royal life completely.
The Duke and their Duchess may have expressed their interest in moving to Africa, where they became closer during a trip in the early days of their relationship.
The Monarch understood the Sussexes’ desire to lead a normal life as she had experienced something similar during her stay in Malta between 1949 and 1951.
She was able to enjoy some privacy on the island while Prince Philip was stationed there as a naval officer.
The documentary The Royal House of Windsor reveals why the Monarch enjoyed her time in Malta.
According to Author Philip Eade, who is interviewed in the programme: “She could for the first time do more or less what she wanted.
“She could be like a normal young woman. She could go to the hairdresser on her own.
“She could drive around the island. She could go to restaurants with her husband, go on picnics, and all the while the Maltese people left them alone.
“And so Malta, for her, represented a great feeling of freedom.”In an old interview with TVM, local man Guzeppi Formosa described the love of Maltese people for the Queen and Prince Philip.
As well as the Queen’s secret plans for the Sussexes, Mr Lacey’s new book describes how Meghan’s came across as “difficult” when she was first introduced to members of the Royal Family.
He claimed the Duchess had a “dangerous level of self-belief” that royals “didn’t know what to do with”.
He wrote: “What you’ve got to realise is that the whole strategy of the monarchy was based on them sticking together.
“Meghan changed all that. She is difficult.
