THE QUEEN knew that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry would never return as working members of the Royal Family when they initially announced they were relocating to Canada, it has been claimed. After weeks of intense speculation, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed in January 2020 that they were leaving their roles as senior royals “to become financially independent while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen”. The statement was issued after barely giving Buckingham Palace any notice.
In response, the Queen said that there were “complicated issues that will take time to work through”. The Sussexes were later offered the choice of “in” or “out” which didn’t appear to satisfy their wishes for a hybrid working model. Regardless, they chose the latter and lost their patronages, military roles, would no longer use their HRH style and would receive no further public funds as a consequence.
At the time the Queen said there would be a year-long cool-off period giving the couple a chance to come back into the fold. But in an extract of Robert Harman’s new book Queen Of Our Times, serialised in the Daily Mail, the author claimed that “privately, she wasn’t expecting them to” ever return after spotting a key detail. When asked about them returning by a guest, the Queen said: “Of course not. They took the dogs.”
A close charity associate of the Sussexes explained that it “wasn’t easy” for Meghan to “adapt to this new life, but she did not allow herself much time”. They added: “Meghan didn’t like the way things were done. She decided it was all wrong and he stood by her. “Even so, blowing the whole thing up was a strange thing to do.” Since stepping back from “the Firm” – as the Royal Family is often referred – the Sussexes have often found themselves at odds with the family.
Things went to another level in March 2021 when they sat down for a “tell-all” interview with Oprah Winfrey. During the explosive chat, they accused a senior royal – who Harry clarified was not the Queen or Prince Philip – of questioning how dark Archie’s skin would be. In response, the Queen insisted that “recollections may vary” and the family would resolve the issues as a private matter. Prince William later said that the royals are “very much not” a racist family in a strong rebuke to Harry and Meghan’s claims.
