Five highs and lows since Meghan Markle and Prince Harry finished up as working royals in March 2020
Half a decade has passed since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle abandoned their lives as working royals to seek fame and fortune in the US. See the highs and lows.
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Five years have passed since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle departed the UK bound for Canada and the United States as they began their new lives no longer working as senior royals.
Since they left Britain they have continued to dominate the headlines – usually for all the wrong reasons – and have fractured their relationship with the royal family so badly that many argue it cannot be repaired.
These are five highs and lows since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex finished up as working royals on March 31, 2020.
HIGHS
1) Birth of Lilibet, 2021
The Duchess of Sussex gave birth to the pair’s second child, Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor on June 4, 2021 at Santa Barbara Cottage hospital in California.
The name Lilibet was the royal family’s nickname for Queen Elizabeth II and the arrival was the first senior royal’s baby born in the US.
The arrival of Lili – the fifth grandchild of King Charles III – also means she is seventh in line to the British throne, sitting behind her uncle Prince William and her cousins George, Charlotte and Louis and her father Prince Harry and brother Archie.
2) Invictus Games, 2025
Prince Harry founded the Invictus Games in 2014, an international event for wounded military veterans.
His passion project has remained something dear to the 40-year-old and one that he’s been applauded for internationally.
Prince Harry served in Afghanistan and witnessed many fellow soldiers suffer injuries and he became inspired to create the Invictus Games after watching the Warrior Games, for injured and sick US military personnel that was held in Colorado in 2013.
The next Invictus Games will be held in Birmingham in 2027.
3) Making their own money
The Duke and Duchess and Sussex have long been criticised for being propped up financially by the royal family but when they left their royal responsibilities in 2020 they said they wanted to become “financially independent”.
They went on to sign a lucrative deal with streaming platform Netflix reportedly worth £78 million (A$160m) and have since rolled out many TV series including Meghan and Harry, With Love, Meghan and Polo.
They also reaped the financial rewards from Harry’s book Spare and podcast deals including
Meghan’s Archetypes series which featured many high-profile stars including tennis champion Serena Williams.
4) Departure from the UK
The pair’s popularity among Britons has continued to plummet and many in the UK were glad to see the pair pack their bags and relocate to Canada and the US.
But there was a problem with their move, the pair’s popularity with Americans also diminished, with many polls showing they were disliked in their new home country.
Many reports in recent years claim Prince Harry has “burnt his bridges” and will not be welcome home if he and Meghan decide to move back to the UK, so it’s fair to say many would be happy to see them stay living abroad.
5) Charity work
There’s no doubt Meghan and Harry have tried to forge ahead with charity work since leaving the UK but in recent days this has turned into a disaster for charity Sentebale.
Prince Harry co-founded the charity with Prince Seeiso in 2016 in honour of his late mother Diana, the Princess of Wales, to help children who lost parents to HIV and Aids.
Unfortunately for Harry this has turned into a PR nightmare of late, with his good work marred by claims that he was accused of “bullying and harassment at scale” by the organisation’s chair Dr Sophie Chandauka.
Sadly, the Prince’s good work has been overshadowed by these scathing allegations.
LOWS
1) Oprah Winfrey interview, 2021
Meghan and Harry’s decision to sit down and do a one-on-one two-hour interview with American TV host Oprah Winfrey set the scene that it was them versus the rest of the royal family and a relationship that has continued to sour.
Meghan, a former TV star, no doubt largely orchestrated the sit-down chat with Oprah and during the sit-down interview accused the royals of racism for asking what skin colour their child Archie would be before he was born.
Meghan also told Oprah she didn’t receive sufficient support when she had self-harm and suicidal thoughts, painting the royals as a careless family who had no regard for her personal problems.
2) Queen Elizabeth II’s death, 2022
The death of the Queen, aged 96, on 8 September 2022 showcased the strained relationship between Prince Harry and William for the entire world to see.
At the Queen’s funeral there was no eye contact or any acknowledgment between Prince William and his brother and the two consequently made headlines around the world that the damage was done and probably going to stay that way for quite some time.
3) Harry and Meghan Netflix series, 2022
The six-part Netflix series was another attack on the royal family with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex complaining that she failed to receive support from the royal family when she was the subject of race-related attacks.
Harry also revealed the “pain and suffering” for those who marry into the royal family and the series painted the royals’ family affairs as strained after they fled to the US and Canada to start a new life well away from their closest relatives.
Many commentators criticised the pair for getting paid from Netflix to air their dirty laundry and break the privacy held so strongly by members of the royal family.
4) Release of Harry’s book Spare, 2023
Prince Harry’s bombshell tell-all book titled Spare released in January 2023 further harmed he and wife Meghan’s plunging popularity in the UK after he decided to give a warts and all version of events of his life.
The Duke of Sussex also made the astonishing revelation that his brother Prince William, the future king, “knocked him to the floor” after a heated dispute erupted between the pair over Meghan.
He also divulged that he consumed cocaine when he was 17 and that he killed 25 Taliban fighters during his stint in Afghanistan.
Airing his dirty laundry only further harmed the already damaged relationship within his own family.
5) King Charles III’s Coronation, 2023
The Duke of Sussex made the trek from America to the UK for his father’s coronation on his own.
Notably absent was Meghan who made the decision to stay well away from the historic occasion and remain at her home in the US with her two children Archie and Lilibet.
Prince Harry was not involved in the official ceremony nor did he make an appearance on the balcony at Buckingham Palace after the ceremony to thank the crowds and watch on the fly-past by the Red Arrows.
It was also reported that when the coronation drew to a close he made a swift exit back to America hours later after the official ceremony ended.
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