In a previous BBC documentary about Prince William and Prince Harry, one reporter recalled the response of the Duke of Sussex when she “pushed her luck” and asked him a question during a royal outing
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s life now in California couldn’t be any more different to the one they once lived.
After marrying in 2018, the couple were full-time working royals who travelled both within the UK and overseas to engagements representing the late Queen. However, after just a short time, it all began to fall apart and many believe the turning point came in late 2019 when Harry and Meghan embarked on a tour of Southern Africa with their young baby son, Prince Archie.
It was after that tour that things started to unravel quickly for the pair, and months later they stunned the world when they dramatically announced they’d be stepping down as working royals.
A BBC documentary that aired in 2021 charted the media coverage of Harry and Meghan from their wedding in May 2018 until they quit the Royal Family and left to start a new life in the United States. In it, the royal press pack talked about their experiences on that Southern Africa tour.
And Sky News royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills recalled an exchange in Malawi with Harry where she called out to ask him a question while he was on an engagement – and was given short shrift after she “kicked the wasps’ nest”.
She admitted on the documentary she was “slightly pushing her luck” by calling out to ask a question after Harry had visited a health centre in the country and was walking back to his car. She said: “He doesn’t stop and give me a full interview but he acknowledges me or whatever. This one played out quite differently.”
The documentary then showed the exchange with Mills asking Harry as he left an engagement after talking to some young people: “What do you hope to achieve through this?”
Harry responded by saying: “What? Ask them.” Mills asked again: “Is that why it is important to come here and talk to them?” To which Harry snapped: “Rhiannon, don’t behave like this.” The reporter told the documentary: “Most people look at it and think, well hang on, it was a polite question, why did it blow up? But looking back at it now, I had basically kicked the wasps’ nest and I didn’t realise it.”
Shortly after the couple’s return to the UK, a documentary aired on ITV detailing their trip. In it, Harry talked about his rift with William for the first time, while new mum Meghan revealed nobody had asked her if she was OK. Afterwards, it was revealed that Meghan and Harry would be taking several weeks off from royal duties and they later spent Christmas 2019 in Canada.
Just weeks later, following the Sandringham Summit, it was revealed the pair would be stepping down as senior royals and they’ve since carved out a life for themselves and their children in the United
