Five years after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle exited the Royal Family, the Sussexes have turned a new chapter – but King Charles is still hurt over one choice for their family, according to a royal expert
It has been half a decade since Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex rocked the world with the news of their decision to step down as working royals.
In a shocking statement on January 8, 2020, Harry and Meghan announced their intentions to “carve out a progressive new role” in the institution and become financially independent.
It was reported the late Queen Elizabeth II was “blindsided” by the decision and a source claimed Harry regretted his move to not consultant his grandmother first. The Queen issued an unprecedented statement to confirm that the couple were no longer full-time working royals and there were “complex matters” for the family to resolve.
Six months later, Harry and Meghan, with their one-year-old son Prince Archie, relocated to California, Meghan’s home state. Harry became even more estranged from his older brother, Prince William, and the family feud deepened as the Sussexes aired their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, when Harry said he and William were on ‘different paths’.
Two years later, Harry claimed in his memoir Spare that he and William had a physical altercation at Frogmore Cottage over Meghan’s behaviour. The Duke claimed William ‘lunged’ at him and ‘grabbed’ his shirt during the confrontation, with the book painting the Fab Four’s relationship in a completely different light.
The brothers have since crossed paths at the funeral of Lord Robert Fellowes last August, but it was reported the warring siblings were ‘discreet’ with one another. Their rift has shown no signs of healing in the months since, despite Harry’s sister-in-law Kate, Princess of Wales, and his father King Charles both being diagnosed with cancer last year.