In January 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle released their bombshell statement to social media which revealed they were stepping back from their roles as senior working royals and were planning to split their time between the UK and the US where they would "work to become financially independent".
Their shock decision reportedly came after the couple felt the "entire institution" was against them and that the royals and many senior members of staff were attempting to show that the monarchy was secure with or without Harry and Meghan. Despite this, royal author Andrew Morton explained how the couple were handed a major honour within the Commonwealth but still felt negatively.
The famed author spoke to The Mirror's podcast, Pod Save the King , about how early Harry and Meghan had started to think about leaving The Firm, despite being handed one of the most important roles within the Commonwealth.
Morton told the podcast: " Harry was having conversations in a London hotel with Oprah Winfrey back in November 2018, just six months after they'd been married.
"So they were thinking about a different direction of travel pretty early on. The irony is they had been given the keys to the first class lounge when Prince Harry was given the position of Youth Ambassador to the Commonwealth.
"This was effectively the Queen's way of saying 'you do the rest of the world, leave William and Catherine to do the UK where they will eventually be the Heads of State.'"
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Morton also explained how Prince Harry saw his marriage to Meghan as his way out of the Royal Family and why he believes the late Queen would have been understanding and supportive if they'd just taken a few years to think about their future roles.
Morton said: "They were thinking about living in New Zealand and they even spoke to the Prime Minister of New Zealand about this - so they had all kinds of plots and thoughts for their future.
"It didn't work out because when it actually comes down to it, Prince Harry is cursed with charisma but hates being a prince and I think that he saw Meghan as a way out. They didn't have to leave the Royal Family in the way that they did, but they did."
The author continued: "Back in the late 1940's after they married, The Queen and Prince Philip lived in Malta for a while as he was pursuing his career in the Royal Navy and many thought he would end up as First Lord of the Admiralty as he was such a star.
"They never thought for a minute that George VI would die so soon and thought that they would have 20 years or so on the fringes of the Royal Family.
"So The Queen has always been very understanding of anybody who wants to step back for a few years and just enjoy family life because you're a long time being a royal."
