How Meghan and Harry broke up with the Firm
Things began civilly enough but ended with a devastating statement from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
What ended with a devastating statement from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex began in a civilised enough manner, with emails between Prince Harry and his father as they conducted negotiations thousands of kilometres apart. In between there were misunderstandings, pleas for peace, family politics and explosive displays of anger.
At the centre of it all was a couple so determined to get their way that they were prepared to ignore the advice of their senior aides. And now, despite hurt feelings all round, the royal family is trying to repair the damage by getting together to ensure Harry and Meghan a swift departure from their roles as senior members of “the Firm”.
The duke and duchess have been building up to this for a while. As one senior source put it, when they gave an interview in October to Tom Bradby of ITV News in South Africa “they had made it clear that they were finding it very difficult. They were anxious and excited to chart their own course, knowing that they had more flexibility as they were not in the line of succession.”
Moves were already afoot to create their own website with the help of the American PR company Sunshine Sachs. The site was originally intended to promote their charitable foundation, but later to explain — when the time came — how they planned to branch out on their own.
As they took an extended break with their son, Archie, now eight months, in Canada, the negotiations over their plans began to take shape. Harry originally contacted the Prince of Wales just before Christmas about spending more time in North America but was told he needed to come up with a thought-out plan, the London Evening Standard reported. When he sent a draft proposal to Prince Charles early in the new year he was told more time was needed to think through the complex implications, particularly over funding.
A source told The Times: “It reached an impasse where his father said, ‘We need to have these conversations in person. This is not something we can negotiate over email.’ ”
That much was agreed but Harry also wanted to talk to his grandmother.
“He wanted to go and see the Queen,” a source said. “He has been communicating with her on the phone throughout. He wanted to see her, not to negotiate with her but to talk to her grandson to granny, to say, ‘This is how we have come to this’.” It was intended to be a gesture of respect rather than an attempt to open negotiations with her.
He called her suggesting that he visit her at Sandringham when he returned home. “She says, ‘Yes, love to see you, come and see me’,” the source said.
Then came what has been described as a “classic” move from the palace.
“A message was conveyed, ‘Oh, sorry, misunderstanding, she might have said she was available, but actually she is not available’,” Harry, it seemed, had fallen victim to family politics. The source said this was, in part, because the family was worried he would use anything she said in their meeting as a negotiating tactic. Nothing, apparently, could have been further from the truth. But the result was that Harry was angry and upset at the rebuff.
By the time he and Meghan were back home, their press team was aware that The Sun was on to a story about their plans to spend more time in Canada. It prompted anxious negotiations between the Sussexes and the rest of the family about how to proceed. Should they sweat it out and say nothing, in the knowledge that such delicate negotiations are best conducted out of the public eye? Or should they release a statement and thereby try to set the agenda? The matter was taken out of their hands when the story appeared in Wednesday’s paper under the headline “We’re orf again”.
Never fans of the tabloid press, Harry and Meghan were incandescent. “They were so angry,” said the source. There was talk of putting out a statement — not the one that was eventually released but a blander version merely confirming that talks were taking place, and giving none of the detail about their plans to become financially independent and to split their time between Britain and North America.
Once more Harry spoke to the Queen. Versions of how the conversation went differ. According to one narrative she made it clear that he should not go public with his plans. However, a source close to Harry told The Times: “He certainly thinks she said it was fine.”
His closest advisers did not think it was fine. Both Sara Latham, the couple’s communications secretary, and Fiona Mcilwham, their private secretary, argued strongly against putting out a bombshell statement without consulting the other members of the family. Harry and Meghan, however, were determined to press ahead.
The other royal households were given the statement shortly after 6pm on Wednesday. Ten minutes later it was sent out to the world.
The public support Harry and Meghan’s decision to step back from the royal family but do not think they should continue to receive money from Prince Charles’s estate, polling has shown.
A snap survey by YouGov showed that the move was supported by 45 per cent of the British public, with 26 per cent opposed and 30 per cent unsure.
However, 63 per cent said that as a result they should not continue to receive money from the Duchy of Cornwall, the royal estate that also funds Prince Charles and Prince William. Only 13 per cent thought this should continue, falling to 7 per cent of people in London.
But the announcement that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex aimed to be financially independent has raised questions about their future income. The duke has personal wealth — the money left to him by his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales — but is supported by money from his father and public cash.
In the streets that surround Windsor Castle, locals grumbled at the cost of a recent renovation to the couple’s residence, Frogmore Cottage, which sits in the castle grounds. Taxpayers paid £2.4m to renovate the grade II listed building, into which the pair moved nine months ago.
Jess Hunter, 28, manager of the Queen Charlotte pub, said: “It seems a bit rich to then turn around and walk away from it all. I like Meghan but she knew what she was getting into when she married Harry. If you don’t want to be a princess, don’t marry a prince.”
About 32 per cent of people thought the decision would “damage” the royal family, while 49 per cent did not. “He’s a normal human being and he’s wanting to carve out a little bit of space for his new family to grow in,” Michael Smith, 52, a prison officer, said. “It’s what his mother would have wanted.”
Harry and Meghan’s closest advisers are a devoted team who believe in the values, aims and ambitions espoused by the duke and duchess. But that does not mean that their advice is always listened to: and it also does not mean that some of them are not anxious about their future as the couple carve out their new role.
It also does not mean all of them have been involved in the plans. The Sussexes’ website, sussexroyal.com, was created by Made by Article, a Canadian company, without input from their Buckingham Palace press team. Instead much of the content, criticised for inaccuracies, was created by the couple with Sunshine Sachs, a PR company in New York.
Latham and Mcilwham were both only appointed in the past year. Until last year the couple’s household was part of Kensington Palace, home of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and they were a closely knit team and funded by the Prince of Wales.
Then came the falling out and the decision for the Sussexes to set up on their own. In theory they are answerable to the Buckingham Palace team but in reality they operate as a separate fiefdom. Most staff costs are paid for by the Duchy of Cornwall but communications staff under Latham are paid for by the sovereign grant.
Doria Ragland has, in contrast to other members of the Duchess of Sussex’s family, remained impeccably discreet ever since her daughter became a global figure because of her romance with and marriage to Prince Harry. Her role in the couple’s decision to split their time between Britain and North America is, however, coming under scrutiny.
Ragland, 63, a yoga instructor and former social worker, retains a very close bond with her daughter, who she brought up largely alone in Los Angeles following her divorce from Thomas Markle in the 1980s.
Although her daughter moved to Windsor, Ragland has shown no inclination to join her in Britain. She lives in a modest Spanish-style two-bedroomed bungalow in View Park, one of the wealthiest predominantly African-American communities in the US, near Los Angeles International airport and a short drive south of Hollywood.
In 2018, a neighbour told People magazine that Ragland had told someone else in the area “that Meghan wanted to move her (to Britain)” but “Doria didn’t want to hear about it. She likes her neighbourhood and plans to stay for now at least.”
Additional reporting: Ben Hoyle
The Times