Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been living independently from the royal family for a few years now. They first moved to Canada briefly and then settled in Montecito, California, in 2020. Since then, they’ve been involved in various business ventures, many of which still have ties to their royal past.
Their relationship with the UK royal family has been strained, especially after they were asked to leave their home there. However, recent reports suggest that Harry is interested in finding a permanent place in the UK.
The couple left the UK for good on what they called their “freedom flight.” Initially, the reasons behind their departure weren’t clear, but Harry later explained in his book “Spare” why they wouldn’t be returning to the UK anytime soon.
Moving to the US meant starting a new life far from their royal responsibilities, which Harry had carried out for many years.
Leaving the royal family was a big decision for their family of three, but they managed it. Since then, they’ve had another child, Princess Lilibet, who recently turned three.
Despite wanting a more private life, Harry and Meghan have made headlines worldwide with accusations against the Royal Family, especially in their Oprah Winfrey interview, Netflix series, and Harry’s memoir “Spare.”
They’ve also started several businesses, and Meghan is reportedly working on growing her brand. Her lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchid, launched recently but didn’t get the reception she expected.
Recently, Meghan faced criticism for overshadowing Kate Middleton’s return to royal duties at Trooping the Colour, as news about a new jam flavor she endorsed came out around the same time.
Harry and Meghan’s relationship with the royal family is not good. Prince Harry isn’t talking to his brother, Prince William, and Meghan and Kate Middleton are not close.
How did it all begin? On January 8, 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle surprised everyone by announcing they were leaving royal life.
“After thinking about it for a long time and talking a lot, we have decided to make a change this year and start a new role within the royal family,” they said.
“We plan to step back from being ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to support ourselves financially. At the same time, we will continue to fully support Queen Elizabeth. Your support, especially in recent years, has encouraged us to make this change. We will split our time between the United Kingdom and North America. This way, we can raise our son with an understanding of royal traditions, but also have the space to focus on our new plans, including our charity work.”
Harry and Meghan added, “We look forward to sharing more details about our new journey soon. We will keep working with Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Prince William, and everyone else involved. Thank you so much for your support.”
At that time, the BBC reported that Queen Elizabeth and Prince William were not asked for their opinion before Harry and Meghan announced their decision. Buckingham Palace was reportedly “disappointed,” and other senior royals were upset.
But this decision didn’t happen suddenly. Royal expert Andrew Morton, who wrote the book Diana: Her True Story, suggested that Harry and Meghan had been thinking about leaving the royal family for a while, even early in their marriage.
Just days after their wedding, Jonny Dymond, a BBC reporter who covers the royals, noticed something wasn’t right.
“Very soon after the wedding … There were stories about Meghan’s behavior towards staff,” he said in a BBC documentary called The Prince and the Press.
Camilla Tominey, who first reported on Harry and Meghan’s relationship, added, “We were hearing that things weren’t going well between William and Harry, Meghan and Kate, and also between Harry and Meghan and the royal household.”
Harry and Meghan have explained they had many reasons for leaving the royal family for good.
In an interview with The Cut, Meghan Markle talked about why she and Harry decided to leave the UK. Meghan said the British media focused a lot on her and it affected her health and relationship with the royal family.
“The press was always watching us because we were part of the royal family, and that meant taxpayers paid for our lives,” the papers said. They also said that people were interested in what they were doing.
So, Harry and Meghan thought they could work and make money instead of getting money from taxpayers. Meghan thought this might make the press stop bothering them.
They also asked the royal family if they could leave the UK and move to another country in the Commonwealth, maybe South Africa or Canada. Unfortunately, the answer was no.
“Just by being there, we were changing how things worked in the royal family. So we said, ‘Okay, let’s leave. We’re okay with that,'” Meghan said.
She said their request wasn’t a new idea, and other royal family members had already done the same thing.
“That, for some reason, was not something we were allowed to do, even though other family members do the same thing,” Meghan said.
In his book Spare, Harry talked about their life in the royal family and why they decided to leave. He explained why they ‘fled’ from royal life.
According to Harry and Meghan, leaving was necessary. Harry remembered visiting Frogmore Cottage after Prince Philip’s funeral. “I thought, how beautiful everything is here. But also, how sad,” he said.
“Once, I thought this would be my home forever. Instead, it turned out to be just a short stay.”
He added, “When my wife and I left this place, afraid for our mental health and safety, I didn’t know if I would ever come back. It was January 2020. Now, fifteen months later, I was here, after waking up to thirty-two missed calls and talking briefly with Granny: ‘Harry… Grandpa’s gone.'”
When they were still senior royals, Harry and Meghan lived at Frogmore. They spent about $3 million to renovate the royal estate. When they decided to step down from their royal duties, they agreed to pay back all the money to UK taxpayers.
They used to have Frogmore Cottage as their base in the UK for visits, but now things have changed. Reports say Prince Charles decided the future of the property just a day after Harry’s book “Spare” came out, and he told them to leave.
Harry is reportedly searching for a permanent home in the UK, according to a royal expert.
People close to Prince Harry and Meghan said they were shocked by the decision.
“They have until early summer to move out,” a source told Omar Scobie, who is close to the Sussexes. “At first, they only had a few weeks, but now they have until after the coronation.”
“It feels very final and like a harsh punishment,” a friend of Harry and Meghan’s said. “It’s like the family wants to cut them out for good.”
Even though Harry and Meghan have settled into their quieter life in Montecito and are raising their children, Archie and Lilibet, Harry might be thinking twice.
According to Tom Quinn, Harry really misses his army and college friends. Unfortunately, they haven’t visited him in California because “they don’t get along with Meghan.” Because of this, there are reports that Harry wants to find a permanent home in the UK.
“Over time, Harry misses parts of his old life in the UK. The excitement of living in the States is wearing off, and Harry is starting to look back at his past with nostalgia,” Quinn told the Mirror.
He also said, “He misses his friends from Eton and the army. Many of them haven’t visited because they don’t get along with Meghan. Harry really wants to find a permanent home in the UK, and that’s part of why he’s still trying to make the British taxpayer pay for his security.”
Expert says Harry might regret leaving royal life
Tom Quinn isn’t the only one who thinks Harry might be having second thoughts. Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams says Harry misses royal life, but Meghan isn’t interested in going back.
For the second year in a row, Harry and Meghan weren’t invited to Trooping the Colour. According to Fitzwilliams, this has made Harry regret his actions in the past few years.
“We know they wanted an apology from the Royal Family for how they were treated when they were senior working members,” Fitzwilliams told The Sun. “They won’t get that. But I do think there will be some regret.”
“The military was a big part of his life, and it’s natural he would feel some regret about not being at Trooping the Colour,” he said.
“I don’t think Meghan would care much about a ceremony like Trooping the Colour,” Fitzwilliams added.
“I’m not sure if she would watch it. If she did care, she could have found a way to be useful in the Royal Family.”
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