Prince Harry wanted out of royals long before meeting Meghan Markle

As Meghan Markle’s most vocal critics blame her for dragging Prince Harry out of the royal family, they’re missing one key point.

Maybe “Megxit” wasn’t Meghan’s fault after all …

Prince Harry wanted a radical change in his role in the royal family long before he ever met Meghan Markle, and longed to distance himself from public life, a new book about the couple claims.

“Fundamentally, Harry wanted out,” a source told Carolyn Durrand and Omid Scobie, authors of Finding Freedom, which is being excerpted in the Times of London. “Deep down he was always struggling within that world.’”

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Harry wanted out of the family long before Meghan came along, a new book claims. Picture: Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP

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“I don’t need to have that movie moment where we get out of a car and wave to a hundred photographers before going into a building,” Harry told a friend after the couple fled to Canada last year. “It should just be about the work happening inside. Let’s focus on what really matters.”

The book adds that Harry and Meghan “liked being in control of their narrative” in the early days of their marriage, and Harry was determined to respond to every negative story about them in the press. Meghan and Harry claimed through a spokesperson that they did not contribute to the book, but did not deny its contents.

Away from the royal courtiers that surrounded them in England, they retreated to the sprawling mansion on Vancouver Island that had been found through their friends Ben Mulroney and music producer David Foster. Foster was close friends with the investor who was selling the property and was willing to rent it to the couple at below market value, the authors say.

Surrounded by two private beaches on four acres of land, “they could think for themselves,” the book claims.

“They went over the events since the wedding and talked about how and if they could create a situation that would make for a better future,” the book claims.

The new book promises to lift the lid on Meghan and Harry. Picture: Supplied

This story originally appeared on Page Six and is republished here with permission.