Meghan Markle and Prince Harry felt “crushed” about having to leave their senior roles in the Royal Family but felt the decision “wasn’t a surprise, given the lack of support they received”, it has been claimed.
In early 2020, it was announced the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would be leaving their working roles in the Royal Family before they relocated from the UK to eventually reside in Montecito, California.
But criticism soon emerged, with the couple making a number of bombshell claims against the royal institution, first in an interview with Oprah Winfrey and then in their Netflix series last December. Harry made further claims in his tell-all memoir, Spare.
In his recent co-written book, Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of A Modern Royal Family, journalist Omid Scobie explained how difficult it was for the Sussexes to make the decision to leave their senior roles in the Royal Family.
He claimed they felt “crushed” about having to leave but felt it was best for their family as they felt neglected.
Scobie noted: “To say [Harry and Meghan] were crushed is an understatement. It’s a decision that the couple still feel wasn’t necessary, but also wasn’t a surprise, given the lack of support they received.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have previously made claims over a lack of support from the Royal Family – most notably during their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.
The co-author of the book also claimed Meghan was overcome with emotion as she and Harry announced their decision to step down as senior working royals.
Just before making their official exit, Meghan attended the Association of Commonwealth Scholars event.
In an impactful seven-word statement, she reportedly whispered to Scobie: “It didn’t have to be this way.”
He wrote in an article for Harper’s Bazaar in March 2020: “The tears that the duchess had been bravely holding back [were] free to flow among familiar faces.
“The Duchess of Sussex emotionally [bid] much-loved aides farewell, with her flight ‘home’ to Canada leaving in a matter of hours.
“Meghan would fly back to Canada on the last commercial flight of the day, eager to be back in Vancouver Island by the morning before Archie wakes up.”
Meghan and Harry now live in Montecito with their two young children, Prince Archie, four, and Princess Lilibet, two.
The couple have reportedly not met with the Royal Family in more than a year, when they were in the UK in September 2022 for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
Harry returned to the UK earlier this year for the Coronation of his father King Charles III.
But he cut a distant figure, watching proceedings from the third row at Westminster Abbey before making a swift exit and returning home to Montecito. It was held on the same day as Archie’s fourth birthday.
