Devastating Megxit fallout 5 years on from ‘deeply saddened’ King Charles to ‘new phase’

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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.

And five years on, the emotional fallout from Megxit is a painful now for Charles as it was back then, an expert says. Especially the absence of his grand-children. Archie was born in London in May 2019, eight months before Harry and Meghan announced their exit, and Lilibet was born in California in June 2021, 18 months after they moved to the US. Their upbringing in the States – thousands of miles away from Harry’s royal relatives back in Blighty – has meant the pair rarely see their grandfather. It is believed the King has only seen Archie a handful of times when he was a baby and Lilibet just once after she was born. Instead, he has watched them grow up in rare photographs and clips of the siblings on Harry and Meghan’s public social media.

Last year, sources said Charles had committed himself to building a relationship with Harry’s children and to be present in their lives, after many years apart. A source said: “The King is absolutely committed to being present in all of his grandchildren’s lives. He values family above everything and whatever the course of his ­relationship with his son, he would never be content with just seeing his grandchildren on the odd video call.”

Sharing her take on the King’s pain, royal expert Jennie Bond told The Mirror: “It must remain a great sadness to the King to be so distant from his two US-based grandchildren – he hardly knows them and there’s no prospect of that changing any time soon. The early years in a child’s life are so magical – and once they’re gone, they’re gone. I hope the King doesn’t dwell on his loss too much, but it must hurt. Maybe, behind the scenes, Harry and Meghan have sent pictures to the King… we can but hope!”

If Harry has kept in contact with his father, it is most likely in the form of videos and calls as, in the last five years, the Duke has only made a handful of trips back to the UK, attending the funeral of Prince Philip and the late Queen, and visiting Charles after his cancer diagnosis. Having lost his tax-payer-funded security when he quit the Royal Family, Harry has said he does not feel safe bringing his children and wife to the UK. His private security is among many financial difficulties the Prince has reportedly faced.

Meanwhile, Meghan and Harry are now focused on carving out careers for themselves with various commercial ventures including a failed Spotify deal to a Netflix show on polo. In her latest move, self-styled lifestyle guru Meghan has gone back to her roots with a Netflix cookery series titled Meghan, With Love, which will complement her American Riviera Orchard brand.

Speaking about former Suits actress Meghan’s rebrand, Jennie explained that Meghan’s strategy appears to involve embracing life as a star, rather than a royal.

“I think this is an entirely new phase for Meghan as she embraces her celebrity status, rather than her association with the Royal Family,” Jennie said. “And that seems like an obvious choice – she was trying to set herself up as a lifestyle guru before Harry came along, so it makes perfect sense for her to pursue this avenue. It looks as if it will be an entirely wholesome, feel-good vibe, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that in this troubled world. Spreading a little joy sounds fine to me.”

Unlike their previous Netflix series, Harry & Meghan, in which they pilloried their estranged family, Jennie believes the Royals have nothing to fear from the show – and nor will they be watching. She said: “I don’t think it poses any threat to the Royals. I very much doubt they’ll watch her show – though Eugenie and Beatrice might tune in. I’d be surprised if she cashed in any further on her royal connections by talking about her life in the UK.”

The expert highly doubts Meghan and Harry’s children, Archie and Princess Lilibet, will have any involvement in the series, based on their history of keeping them out of the spotlight. Jennie said: “There’s a sense of intrigue about Archie and Lilibet because we have seen so little of them, but I doubt they will feature in Meghan’s shows… especially as the filming was done away from their Montecito home. At most, there might be fleeting glimpses of them, but, quite understandably, Harry and Meghan have chosen to bring them up extremely privately.”