Every family has a little bit of drama — even royal ones. Following their shocking step away from their senior royal duties in March 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have distanced themselves from their relatives across the pond.
When the couple, who exchanged vows in May 2018, announced their plans to take a break from their senior roles in January 2020, the news came as a big shock to those closest to them. “[Prince] William was blindsided by Harry and Meghan’s decision and statement,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly at the time. “William is incredibly hurt, but at the same time he has his own family to focus on and is trying to move forward with his life.”
Before he and Meghan settled down in California with their son, Archie, the Duke of Sussex attended a series of meetings with his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II and had a “heart-to-heart” about the situation. Despite his decision to leave his position within the palace, Harry “adores” the monarch, a source said at the time.
“The last thing Elizabeth wants is for Harry to feel estranged from his family and she made her feelings clear about this in the meeting,” the royal insider noted.
Nearly one year after their initial step away, Buckingham Palace confirmed in February 2021 that Harry and the Suits alum were not going to return as working royals. One month later, they aired their grievances during a no-holds-barred interview with CBS, claiming that they felt “a lack of support and lack of understanding” from The Firm.
Harry asserted that he didn’t “blindside” his grandmother with the decision, noting, “I have too much respect for her.” His relationship with his father, King Charles III, is a little murkier.
“It was like, ‘I need to do this for my family.’ This is not a surprise to anybody. It’s really sad that it’s gotten to this point, but I’ve got to do something for my own mental health, my wife’s, and for Archie’s, as well, because I could see where this was headed,” Harry explained, adding that the Prince of Wales had “stopped taking” his calls.
More shocking revelations followed, including the allegation that a family member had made comments about the color of Archie’s skin before his May 2019 arrival. (The couple are also the parents of daughter Lilibet Diana, born in June 2021.) Though he refused to name the relative at the time, Harry confirmed that neither the queen nor her late husband, Prince Philip, were involved in the conversations.
Many of the prince’s extended family members have kept relatively quiet about the drama, but both Charles and William have been hurt by Harry’s words. The monarch has tried to mediate the situation, seemingly to no avail.
“With the way things are going, Charles may never forgive Harry, which hasn’t gone down well with Elizabeth,” a source told Us in May 2021. “She feels that he’s putting his pride before the best interest of the monarchy. … It’s drama she can do without.”
While Harry and Meghan visited the queen in England in April 2022 during a pit stop on their way over to the Invictus Games in the Netherlands, the couple made their first official return to royal events in June 2022, during Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee — a four-day event that honored her 70 years on the throne. “They wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” a source told Us at the time.
The pair brought both their little ones along for the trip. While son Archie was born in the U.K., the occasion marked Lilibet’s first time meeting her great-grandmother. The late monarch passed away later that year in Scotland at age 96.
Scroll down to see where Harry and Meghan stand with the rest of the royal family:
The monarch was “unimpressed” with Harry’s controversial comments about growing up within the royal family, according to a source, but she still has “a soft spot” for her grandson. Harry was also close with late Philip, who died in April 2021. “He was my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right ‘til the end,” the duke wrote in a tribute following his death. Meghan, for her part, spoke highly of the queen during the pair’s CBS interview in March 2021. “The queen has always been wonderful to me,” she said, reflecting on learning to curtsey ahead of their first interaction. When they welcomed their daughter, Lili, in June 2021, Elizabeth was “overjoyed,” a source told Us. With the couple in California full-time, they’ve done their best to stay in touch with Harry’s relatives. Before Philip’s death, he had a funny way of ending their Zoom calls. “My grandfather, instead of, like, pressing ‘leave meeting,’ he [slams the laptop closed],” Harry teased in a February interview. In April 2022, Harry and Meghan stopped in England to visit the queen while on their way to the Invictus Games in the Netherlands. The prince had not been to the U.K. since he and William unveiled the statue of their mother in July 2021, while Meghan had not returned since the duo made their royal exit official in March 2020. In June 2022, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex traveled back to the U.K. to celebrate the monarch's 70 years on the throne during her Platinum Jubilee. While the couple did not stand with the queen on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the Trooping the Colour, they enjoyed the parade from the Major General’s Office that overlooks the grounds. The sovereign passed away three months after the Platinum Jubilee. Shutterstock
As he continues to speak out about his experience behind palace walls, Harry has taken aim at his father’s parenting, committing to follow a different path with his two kids. “I’m gonna make sure I break that cycle so that I don’t pass it on,” Harry said on the “Armchair Expert” podcast in May 2021. At the time, a source told Us Charles was “boiling with anger” and felt “tortured by Harry with his constant digs.” A separate insider previously revealed that the future king plans on “freezing Harry out” when it’s his turn to run “a new slimmed-down monarchy.” In August 2022, Meghan revealed in an interview with The Cut that Harry felt he "lost my dad" as a result of stepping down from the royal family. "It doesn’t have to be the same for them as it was for me [and my father, Thomas Markle], but that’s his decision," she added. Camilla, for her part, has remained tight-lipped about the drama. The pair sent well-wishes to Harry and Meghan when Lili arrived in June 2021. Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock
Things between the brothers were rocky long before Harry and Meghan decided to step back from their senior duties — and their exit only caused more tension. “The relationship is 'space' at the moment,” Harry said of William in March 2021, later claiming his brother is “trapped” in the monarchy. “I love William to bits. We’ve been through hell together and we have a shared experience, but we are on different paths.” Meghan and Kate have similarly gone through their ups and downs since the Sussexes’ May 2018 wedding. Three years later, the California native addressed rumors she made Kate cry before the big day, declaring that “the reverse happened.” However, Meghan added, “She was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologized.” Behind the scenes, Kate has been trying to get Harry and William to see eye to eye. When the trio reunited at Philip’s April 2021 funeral, the duchess acted as the “peacemaker,” royal expert Katie Nicholl said. William and Harry were cordial when they reunited at the July 2021 unveiling of a statue honoring their late mother, Princess Diana. The Fab Four reconvened as a group for the first time since Harry and Meghan’s royal exit after the queen's death. CHRIS JACKSON/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
In April 2020, one month after the pair’s step away from senior duties became official, the queen’s daughter shared some words of wisdom for the “younger generation” of royals. “I don’t think the younger generation probably understands what I was doing in the past and it’s often true, isn’t it? You don’t necessarily look at the previous generation and say, ‘Oh, you did that?’ or ‘You went there?’” she told Vanity Fair at the time. “Nowadays, they’re much more looking for, ‘Oh let’s do it a new way.’ And I’m already at the stage [of], ‘Please do not reinvent that particular wheel. We’ve been there, done that.’ Some of these things don’t work. You may need to go back to basics.” One year later, Anne was bumped up on the royal family’s website, seemingly taking Harry and Meghan’s place. JULIEN WARNAND/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Anne’s son stood between Harry and William during the funeral procession in April 2021 as the family mourned the Duke of Edinburgh. Having also stepped away from the spotlight, Harry’s cousin hasn’t made many public comments about the family feuds. Maureen McLean/Shutterstock
Harry and Meghan have seemingly remained friendly with Anne’s daughter and her husband, who tied the knot in 2011. In August 2020, Mike told Good Morning Britain that he hoped his cousin-in-law could “be happy” with life in California. “You know, he’s stressed that it’s all about his family, so you’ve got to support him through that,” the former rugby player said of “Megxit.” Shutterstock
The Duke of York found himself embroiled in a controversy of his own, stepping away from royal duties in November 2019 amid suspicion about his connections to the late Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew was officially stripped of his titles in January 2022. He has yet to make a major statement about the couple’s departure from the royal family. RICHARD WAINWRIGHT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Andrew’s ex-wife has stayed on good terms with Harry and Meghan, who invited the author to their 2018 nuptials after she was snubbed from the Cambridges’ ceremony. When Meghan announced her first children’s book, The Bench, the Duchess of York came to her defense amid plagiarism claims. “To sit down and work hard to write a book, in any genre, should be supported and respected,” Ferguson told the Daily Mail in May 2021. “To encourage literacy in general, not just children’s books, is a love of mine and to encourage more women to delve into their creative selves and get a book out is very well done.” Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock
Harry and Meghan were unable to attend Beatrice’s 2020 wedding to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the couple “did call Beatrice beforehand to wish her good luck,” a source told Us. Some royal family fanatics suspected there might be tension brewing between the cousins when Beatrice announced her first pregnancy in May 2021, the same day Harry and Meghan marked their third wedding anniversary. Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock
When Harry returned to England for Philip’s funeral in April 2021, he crashed at Frogmore Cottage, his and Meghan’s former residence, which was lent to Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank. At the time, a source told Us Harry was introduced to Eugenie’s son, August. With their pregnancies overlapping in early 2021, a separate insider noted that Meghan and Andrew’s youngest daughter had bonded over motherhood. “They are sort of an unlikely pair, but remain in contact,” the source said, adding that the women have “stayed friends and remain friends.” Eugenie later visited Harry in California in February 2022, and the cousins attended the Super Bowl together. Shutterstock
While speaking with The Telegraph in June 2021, the queen’s youngest son and his wife brushed off a question about Harry and Meghan’s string of strong statements against the royal family. “What interview?” they teased. Edward subsequently told CNN in June 2021 that the tension between the Sussexes and the royal family was “very sad,” adding: “We wish them the very best of luck. It’s a really hard decision.” Tim Rooke/Shutterstock
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