Most telling moments in Prince Harry’s brutally honest speech

There were plenty of jaw-dropping moments in Harry’s brutally honest speech, but one line could completely change how you view Megxit.

Prince Harry has revealed the truth about what sparked his family’s exit from royal life in a stunningly honest speech at a charity dinner in London.

From almost the moment the Duke and Duchess dropped the bombshell last week that they were quitting their senior roles with the monarchy in favour of a private life, it was (perhaps unfairly) assumed that royal newcomer Meghan Markle was the instigator of the decision.

The fact that her name so cleanly created the “Megxit” phrase was just fuel to the fire.

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But in his surprisingly raw speech at the Sentebale event in London on Sunday night, the Duke of Sussex made it clear he wanted to set the record straight about how it had actually unfolded.

Harry was all smiles as he arrived at The Ivy in London on Sunday night. Picture: Backgrid Australia

Things have really changed since his wedding day to Meghan in May 2018. Picture: Aaron Chown – WPA Pool/Getty Images

There were plenty of jaw-dropping moments in the lengthy speech, but one crucial line managed to flip the whole Sussex story.

“The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly. It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges,” Harry earnestly told the crowd.

“And I know I haven’t always gotten it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option.”

Later, he again specified that it was his decision, explaining: “I had to step my family back from all I have ever known to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life.”

It was clear that Harry wanted everyone to know that it was him, and not Meghan, who’d made the final call about their future – a clarification he surely was keen to make after reading endless headlines blaming her for the royal rift.

The couple have decided to live as mostly private citizens. Picture: AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File

In another telling sentence, Harry also admitted that the final deal wasn’t the outcome they had wanted and that it brought him “great sadness” that “it has come to this”.

“What I want to make clear is we’re not walking away … Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the commonwealth, and my military associations but without public funding. Unfortunately, this wasn’t possible,” he explained.

The model the couple had initially advocated for was a sort of “part-time” royal status, where they could retain many of the perks (i.e. Frogmore Cottage, their around-the-clock security) while also being able to ink commercial deals and live abroad in North America.

But much of that was bluntly rejected by the Queen in a statement on Sunday morning in which she announced that they would no longer be able to use their HRH status or represent the Queen, and they would have to pay back the $4.5 million charged to the taxpayers for renovations on Frogmore Cottage.

Significantly, Harry was also stripped of his military titles and patronages – a section of his work he has long been most passionate about.

Prince Harry visits a military base in Norway in early 2019. Picture: Rune Stoltz Bertinussen/NTB scanpix//AFP

According to The Sun, Meghan will soon return from Canada to the UK to join Harry for some final royal duties over the coming months before their new arrangements officially begin in the northern spring of this year.