Queen Elizabeth talks with Prince Philip after the wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. Picture: Reuters
Queen Elizabeth was “very hurt" when Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex stepped down from royal duties.
The couple tied the knot in 2018 but made the decision to quit royal life in 2020 in favour of a life in Los Angeles but were not allowed to use their HRH titles as they sought financial independence. A royal expert has claimed that Harry’s grandmother and Her Late Majesty, who died at the age of 96 on September 8 following a 70-year-reign, wanted to refrain from even thinking about the move.
In an excerpt from her new book “The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy and the Future of the Crown”, shared with Variety, Katie Nichols writes: “The Queen made it clear that if Harry and Meghan chose to leave, they could not reap the benefits of being royal. And according to a friend, privately the queen confided that she was exhausted by the turmoil of their decision. She was very hurt and told me, ‘I don’t know, I don’t care, and I don’t want to think about it anymore!’”
Prince Harry and the Duchess were already parents to Archie, 3, when they quit the Royal Family and welcomed Lilibet, 15 months, after they had relocated and the royal expert said it was a “source of sadness” that the Queen saw “so little” of her youngest great-grandchildren towards the end of her life.
She said: “But it was a source of sadness to the Queen that she got to see so little of Archie and Lilibet and that Harry and Meghan were not able to join her for a weekend at Balmoral in August, when the queen used to host a 'sleepover' for all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”
Nichols said King Charles – who acceded to the throne the moment his mother died and left his eldest son Prince William as heir apparent to the throne – is also “hurt and disappointed” with the situation on Harry and the former “Suits” actress but insisted that the monarch's love for his youngest son is "unconditional."
She said: “He is hurt and disappointed but he has always said his love for Harry is unconditional.”