MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry’s exit from the royal family was “harder than they would ever have imagined” after “trying to find a compromise”, their pal has revealed.
Omid Scobie says the couple had Megxit “mapped out in their heads” but hoped to find a “half in, half out way” before stepping down as senior royals.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed their second child Lillibet Diana in June after moving to the US with son Archie last year.
Scobie, the preferred reporter of the Sussexes – who co-authored their biography Finding Freedom – said their exit from royal life was more difficult for the couple than they had contemplated.
“The hardest part for them was taking those initial steps away from their royal roles,” Scobie told PEOPLE.
“That was harder than they ever would have imagined.
“They had it all mapped out in their heads. They tried to find a way to compromise and find the half in, half out way.”
Scobie believes, however, if the pair had come to a compromise, they would have ended up fully stepping down anyway.
“But would that have enabled them to have that level of happiness and security that they have today? Probably not,” he continued.
“Those ties with the institution would have still been strong and there would have constantly been issues about financial endeavours and the business decisions they made.
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“And they would have found themselves leading to the decision that they had to make and put them where they are today.”
Since stepping back as senior members of the Royal Family, Harry and Meghan have reportedly signed a number of multimillion-dollar streaming and publishing deals.
And although one of the main reasons for leaving the Firm was to get some privacy and to get away from the prying eyes of the public, the couple are jumping back into it – just one year later.
Scobie confirmed the pair will return to public life after “keeping toxicity away”.
“They’re a couple who do very well in those moments of human interaction. They need to be on the ground,” Scobie told PEOPLE.
“They say that the proof is in the pudding, and what we are about to see is that pudding.
“They seem to be existing in a different place, and that place is much healthier.
“Meghan famously spoke about that it was not enough to survive — we are now in the thrive chapter.”
It comes after Meghan and Harry reignited their feud with the Royals as they took a savage swipe at the Queen.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are reportedly not impressed with the way the Palace dealt with their explosive allegations on Oprah.
They believe Her Majesty did not take “full ownership” of the issues raised and “little” has been done since, according to PEOPLE.
‘INCREASED VISIBILITY’
In a new chapter of Finding Freedom featured in PEOPLE, authors Scobie and Carolyn Durand say the comment “did not go unnoticed”.
They write: “The Queen’s ‘recollections may vary’ comment ‘did not go unnoticed by the couple, who a close source said were ‘not surprised’ that full ownership was not taken.
“‘Months later and little accountability has been taken’, a pal of Meghan added. ‘How can you move forward with that?'”
Meanwhile, Harry is set to make his first public appearance following the birth of his daughter by hosting a polo match in the US after pledging to “increase his visibility”.
The Duke of Sussex will compete in the Sentebale polo match today in Colorado after donating £1.1million from the proceeds of his upcoming memoirs to the charity he co-founded.
The royal family is braced for the publication of Harry’s memoirs next year which he has written “not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become”.
Harry will be joined on the field today in Aspen by Argentine polo player and Sentebale ambassador Nacho Figueras.
It is the first time Harry has ventured out for a public appearance since Lilibet’s birth on June 4, as the 36-year-old has been on maternity leave up until now.
