Six years ago today, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle changed the Royal Family forever as they announced they would be stepping back from their roles as senior royals to “carve out a progressive new role” in the institution and become financially independent.
On January 8, 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussexannounced their big news on social media, with some members of the Royal Familyfinding out about their grand exit at the same time as the public. The announcement sent shockwaves through the world and the Firm, with many wondering what lie in store for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as they fled to California to start a new life.
Since making the decision to step back from their lives as working royals, Harry reflected on how his family learned about the news, admitting that he “regrets” the way the late Queen Elizabeth found out, given she had not been consulted before the Sussexes issued their public statement.
In 2020, a source told the Telegraph: “I don’t think he fully appreciated the impact the statement would have in terms of them not consulting the Queen. He regrets that.”
Despite Harry’s family relationships souring after ‘Megxit’, the Duke of Sussex has repeated spoken about his newfound freedom since leaving his royal life behind and living full-time in California.
During an engagement in December, Harry said: “I very much enjoy living here and bringing my kids up here. It’s a part of my life that I never thought I was going to live. I feel as though it’s the life that my mum wanted for me.”
“To be able to do the things I’m able to do with my kids that I undoubtedly wouldn’t be able to do in the UK – it’s huge. That is a fantastic opportunity and I’m hugely grateful for that.”
Follow for live updates
Queen Camilla issues statement on ‘urgent’ mission after ‘deeply concerning’ update
The Queen has described her mission to get people reading as “more urgent than ever” as reading rates are at their “very lowest”.
Camilla founded The Reading Room book club charity in lockdown, and as it marks the fifth anniversary, it has reached a community of 186,000 book lovers in more than 180 countries. However, the 78-year-old has warned that with global reading rates plummeting, the aim of her charity to get people into books has never been more important.
The Queen’s Reading Room’s motto for its milestone year is “Make Room for Reading”, and its new drive is to encourage people to find easy ways of fitting in five minutes of reading a day – just like getting in 10,000 daily steps or five portions of fruit and vegetables.
Meghan Markle’s bold request ‘about Megxit’ to Prince Harry exposed by lip reader
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sent shockwaves around the world exactly six years ago when they dramatically announced they were quitting their royal roles. But it seems one telling comment between the couple has led experts to believe they had been plotting their departure from the Royal Family years before they relocated to California.
The seemingly confidential conversation occurred between the Sussexes at a Service of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey in 2018, just six months after their star-studded wedding in Windsor Castle.
According to the Channel 5 documentary, Lip-Reading The Royals: The Secret Conversations, as Harry and Meghan sat and waited for the ceremony to begin, they started conversing and taking in the situation, with Meghan asking Harry a very serious question.
Prince Harry’s blunt reply after bombshell question about his and Meghan’s royal titles
It was on this day six years ago that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle dropped the bombshell news they were quitting their royal roles. But despite making their major change to their lives back in January 2020, they still retain one huge link to the Royal Family – their royal titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
The titles were granted to them by the late Queen on their wedding day back in 2018 and their pair often still use them.
However, many have questioned why they shouldn’t have been stripped of the styles, especially as they no longer carry out duties on behalf of the monarch – now King Charles.
Follow