Royal family
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made plans to step back from the royal family back in 2020, but their final decision to fully separate reportedly was not what Harry actually wanted.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made a very high-profile exit from the royal family back in 2020 after spending nearly two years as a married working royal couple. There were rumors of tensions as far back as 2017, after Prince William allegedly thought his brother was moving too quickly with Meghan. Ultimately, Harry and Meghan chose to work with the late Queen Elizabeth II to transition out of the family, but a new documentary reveals that Harry didn’t exactly get what he wanted when it came to the royal exit.
Prince Harry wanted a balance of royal work, but the family did not allow it
When Harry and Meghan initially wanted to step down from their royal roles, they were looking for a balance that would allow them to live more private lives while also doing work on behalf of the monarchy. However, according to “Harry — The Lost Prince,” the new German documentary about the Sussexes, the queen wouldn’t allow it. As a result, royal biographer Angela Levin said Harry “didn’t get exactly what he wanted.”
“The late Queen who died said that actually doesn’t work and I don’t want you to use your position within the royal family to make money,” Levin said of Harry’s desire to be a partial working royal with the freedom to do other things.
Royal expert Jack Royston also doubled down on the idea that Harry and Meghan could not possibly have done both, noting that it could be labeled as “corruption” by some. “If they were to be perceived to be promoting their commercial projects while representing the Queen, then that’s also… Starting to border on corruption there because they should never be using the monarchy as a platform,” he said, according to Express.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle chose to leave the family entirely
Harry and Meghan decided that it was in their best interest to just fully separate from the monarchy in order to carve out their own lives. The two officially stepped down in March 2020, and they have not taken on any royal duties since. The Sussexes have returned to the royal family a handful of times for various events, including the queen’s Platinum Jubilee and her funeral, both in 2022.
Meghan has not returned to any royal outings since the queen’s death, and she did not attend King Charles’ coronation. For now, the royals don’t have much of a relationship with Harry, Meghan, or their children, though it’s unclear if that could change down the road.
