PRINCE Harry urgently pushed for Megxit talks before Meghan Markle’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey was revealed, an insider has claimed.
The Duke and Duchess yesterday confirmed they would not be returning as working members of the Royal Family.
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According to the Daily Mail, the Duke of Sussex pushed to restart talks over his and Meghan’s royal position earlier this year.
An insider told the paper there was a “puzzling sense of urgency” to his requests to get talks over the line which reportedly confused officials at Buckingham Palace.
But when the news of Meghan’s “tell all” interview with Oprah Winfrey broke earlier this week it “all became clear”, the source added.
The move was seen as “shocking” by the royal household who had hoped to make a joint statement about the Duke and Duchess’ future earlier this week, the Mail reports.
It comes as:
- Meghan and Harry stayed secretly stayed at Oprah’s £80million mansion before buying their Californian home, it was revealed
- The Duke and Duchess walked away from a number of royal patronages and titles after leaving the Royal Family
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ‘crossed a red line’ by deciding to walk away from the royal family, an expert has claimed
- The Duke and Duchess parted with a cruel jibe at the Queen after being stripped of their roles
- Former MP Norman Baker said Harry and Meghan “should be stripped of their HRH titles” following their exit from Royal life
It is believed the couple will use the Oprah interview to start a new chapter in their lives after Megxit.
And it will see Meghan speak about topics ranging from “stepping into life as a royal, marriage, motherhood, philanthropic work, to how she is handling life under intense public pressure”.
One source told the Mail the Oprah interview would give the couple the chance to “get whatever it is they want to say off their chests and move on”.
The couple dramatically quit the Royal Family last year, and are now living in the US as they raise Archie and await the arrival of their second child.
It comes after Harry and Meghan were yesterday stripped of their royal roles to complete their Megxit.
Despite the move, they will retain their titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex and will remain His and Her Royal Highness.
But they can’t use their HRHs in day-to-day life as they aren’t working members of the Royal Family anymore.
Palace insiders told The Mail it would be “‘unduly punitive” to remove the couple’s HRH titles.
A source told the paper: “They are still the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Your Royal Highnesses, although they won’t be using the latter.
“That was agreed last January and nothing has changed.”
They added: “He was born Prince Harry and will always be Prince Harry, while the [Sussex title] was a wedding gift.
‘Regardless of what has happened, he will still be the grandson of the monarch, the son of a future monarch and the brother of a future monarch. That will never change.
“And he will still be those things even though he has chosen to walk away.
“He would rightly argue that he will always be portrayed as a royal and a prince, even if he worked as a landscape gardener in LA.
“He will never escape [the titles]. So why change?”
Insiders claimed the couple’s new commercial plans in the US were “simply incompatible” with retaining their official titles.
The Queen and her courtiers became increasingly alarmed at their lack of control over the couple and ruled it impossible for them to continue with royal duties from the US.
The Sussexes were told they could not be “half in and half out.”
The Palace announced yesterday that Harry and Meghan couldn’t continue with “responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service”.
The Sussexes hit back with their own statement, insisting: “As evidenced by their work over the past year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the UK and around the world, and have offered their continued support to the organisations they have represented regardless of official role.
We can all live a life of service. Service is universal.”
They will lose their patronages, with Harry being stripped of his honorary military titles as part of the agreement.
Harry and Meghan had wanted to keep representing their military, Commonwealth and other royal patronages — while making millions from private deals.
A spokesman for the Sussexes insisted there was “absolutely no question” Harry and Meghan wanted to keep the positions they had lost.
The spokesman told the Mail: “They do respect the decision but they always made clear they were committed to doing the roles.”
Following the Sussexes statement, senior royals were said to be furious at the couple’s “hurtful jibe” especially as 99-year-old Prince Philip lay sick in his hospital bed.
Royal author Penny Junor said: “It does draw a line. It’s hurtful but every divorce is hurtful.
“This is the decree absolute.”
The Sussexes’ decision to quit royal life indefinitely came a month before the March 31 deadline for a review of their new post-Megxit life.
Meghan was not involved in the talks with the Queen who spoke only to Harry directly via video call.
Harry also held “amicable” talks with other senior royals, including brother William and dad Charles, as early as January.
They have also started their own foundation, Archewell, and launched a podcast series with Spotify believed to be worth £30m.
It means Harry will no longer hold his military titles including The Royal Marines, RAF Honington, Royal Navy Small Ships and Diving.
He is also no longer the patron of England Rugby.
Meghan also lost her patronages with The Royal National Theatre and The Association of Commonwealth Universities.
Meghan and Harry are now living in the US, raising their son Archie, after paying back £2.4million they spent renovating their Windsor home, Frogmore Cottage.
The couple this week announced they were expecting another baby with the Queen saying she was delighted with the news.
Harry and Meghan now live in their own £11m home in California.
