Prince Harry Faces Major Guilt After Moving Away from the Royal Family

A guilty prince, a duchess under siege, and a royal family that just can’t seem to catch a break. The situation is messy to say the least, but how did we get here? For Harry, the struggle has been lifelong.

Harry and his brother William are the only sons of Prince Charles and the late Princess Di. Everyone knows the tragic story of her premature demise, but nobody felt it more than her two young children. In fact, Harry was only 12 at the time of her death.

Harry has never been shy when it comes to sharing his feelings on the tragedy — and whom he holds responsible. Given that paparazzi were chasing the young royal (and at dangerous speeds) at the time of the fatal crash, it makes sense that Harry has had a fraught relationship with the press.

“Every single time I see a camera, every single time I hear a click, every single time I see a flash it takes me straight back [to her death],” he admitted, going on to confess that the hardest part for him was knowing that those responsible for the accident were the same people photographing her as she lay dying.

Given all this background, it makes sense that the royal ginger would be sensitive about people treating his ultra-famous wife in a similar fashion. “Unfortunately, my wife has become one of the latest victims of a British tabloid press that wages campaigns against individuals with no thought to the consequences” he stated.

And he’s certainly not exaggerating. Ever since entering the public eye as a member of the British royals, Meghan’s personal life has been plastered across headlines. Everything from the American's relationship with her father to her perceived mistreatment of Harry has been dragged through the mud. Eventually, they had enough.

Harry and Meghan put up with the brutal defamation for as long as they could. However, once the duchess gave birth to their first child, a boy named Archie, in 2019, the need for Harry to protect his family from negative outside influences only grew. Soon, he’d shock the entire world.

In January of 2020 the polished couple made their stunning announcement: “after many months of reflection and internal discussions” they were stepping down from their roles as senior royals. They added that they hoped to become financially independent “while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.”

The world was rightfully shocked to hear this, but perhaps even more surprising were reports that the duo hadn’t let any of Harry’s royal relatives in on their plans. Usually the family operates like a well-oiled machine, but it seemed to many like the steadfastness was starting to wear thin…

According to sources in the know, the family (including Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, and brother, Prince William) were totally “blindsided” by the move. The same source added that there were “complicated issues” that needed handling.

Despite any controversy that arose from Meghan and Harry’s bold decision, they soldiered on. The couple began prepping for their huge life change, and within months they had moved to a temporary residence in Canada. Little did they know, that would be the calm before the storm…

On March 14th of 2020, the famous pair took a flight to what they hoped would be their final destination: Meghan's hometown of sunny Los Angeles. They settled in to their ridiculously luxurious, $18 million mansion — once owned by Tyler Perry — and got ready for life in America.

The couple had ambitious plans of how they were going to make their way without the support of the Crown. Among the pursuits they jumped into were a nature film narrated by Meghan, various speaking engagements, and even sponsored posts on Instagram. However, as it does, life got in the way…

Unfortunately, the pair couldn’t have chosen a worse time to make the big move to America. The weekend they moved coincided with the coronavirus beginning to pick up speed in the country. Restaurants across the nation were shuttered, people began to work from home, and many (including the couple) decided to self-quarantine.

While the duo tried to put up a sunny facade, it was clear to those around them that things seemed to be spiraling out of control, emotionally speaking. In fact, those close to the prince have suggested that the turmoil grew so bad, Harry began to regret the whole decision...

The move would have been stressful for the couple regardless, but the pandemic certainly didn’t make things easier. Prince Harry was concerned for the queen and Prince Philip, who at the time were 94 and 99, respectively.

All the death in the air made Harry think more deeply about how "Charles and the Queen aren't going to be around forever," and he got a taste of those worries after Philip's death in April 2021. Although Harry traveled back home for the funeral, he reportedly has experienced intense feelings of remorse and concern about being so far away during this difficult time.

"On top of it all, he’s got cabin fever," an anonymous source was quoted as saying. And honestly, that’s incredibly understandable given the global circumstances. In addition, all signs point to him being visibly “overwhelmed with guilt."

Sadly for the 35-year-old, sources said, "It was far from an ideal situation. Harry’s gone from feeling excited about the move to feeling secretly tortured." However, his wife’s opinions on the situation seem more hopeful than Harry’s own.

"She’s assuring [Harry] that once things go back to normal, he’ll love their new life in LA," the insider said. "Meghan wants to take him hiking and talks about the local polo club and how much he’ll love surfing." While the Windsors have physically moved away from Britain, tales of their lives there still haunt them to this day.

We’ve all heard some of the crazy rumors Meghan Markle has endured over the last few years. There has been gossip about Meghan’s parentage, her race, her values, her religion, her childhood — the list goes on, each item more ridiculous than the next…

Or are they? Though it’s obvious some of these rumors are false, some are a little harder to deny. We can’t know what goes on behind closed doors, making one of the most startling stories about Meghan in Quinn’s book all the more surprising.

Rumors about tension in the “Fab Four” (AKA, Will, Kate, Harry, and Meghan) have followed them since the beginning, and everyone from anonymous palace staffers to body language experts have put in their two cents about how true those claims are.

Royal expert Anna Pasternak said that she thinks Prince William finds Meghan to be “difficult,” a claim that royal biographer Andrew Morton supported when he said that Prince Harry “went mental” on his brother for trying to “finish his romance before it had begun.”

The reported “rift” between Harry and William over Meghan is only the tip of the iceberg. Rumors have circulated about Meghan being bad at pretty much everything, from being a bad wife to a bad mother to a bad royal.

Some of these anonymous sources have been kinder to Meghan than others, especially about her introduction to royal life. “Meghan was fast-tracked into the royal firm,” said body language expert Judi James to Express. “This suggested some trust in Meghan’s confidence as a new royal.” 

But for every “nice” rumor, there were ten mean-spirited ones behind it. “Meghan’s pregnancy was faked!” “Meghan’s related to Jack the Ripper!” These rumors are clearly just ways of adding to the Meghan hate. But what if one of the craziest rumors is true?

You see, despite all these nonsense rumors, the ones that always seem the most realistic are those about Meghan’s rocky relationship with the royal family. And ever since she married the youngest of England’s most beloved royal brothers, the comparisons began.

It’s almost natural people started to compare Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle to each other. On the outside, they just seem so different: One is a classic English rose, and the other a divorced, American, mixed-race Hollywood actress. Meghan’s not exactly traditional...

“Kate is actually one of the nicest royals, and she hasn’t let life in her extremely grand apartment at Kensington go to her head,” said a palace insider in Quinn’s book. They even opened up about Kate and Meghan’s first meeting.

“She was very warm towards Meghan when she arrived,” the same insider claimed. But contrary to photos of the sisters-in-law smiling together, rumors have circulated that Meghan is actually jealous of Kate’s future as Queen’s Consort, AKA the wife of the King of England.

“I think [Meghan] has found that difficult to deal with,” according to the same palace insider. Apparently, Meghan’s “jealousy” even extended to the size of William and Kate’s apartment in comparison to Harry and Meghan’s cottage.

“Although Harry loved their cottage in the grounds, Meghan was conscious that it was tiny in comparison to the vast apartment complex where Kate and William live,” the insider said. A second palace source had an even more shocking story to tell.

According to this second source in Quinn’s book, the reason Harry and Meghan left royal life behind had less to do with the intrusive press swarming around them and more to do with Kate Middleton. Apparently, Kate witnessed Meghan doing something unforgivable.

“Kate was horrified when Meghan shouted at a member of Kate’s staff,” the second source claimed. “That was definitely the beginning of discussions about leaving Kensington Palace.” This source touched on some of the internal conflicts Meghan must be dealing with.

“Like many people not used to dealing with servants, Meghan overdoes the imperiousness; so on the one hand she wants to be like Diana, a people’s princess, and on the other she wants people to stand to attention when she clicks her fingers,” the source said.

According to a third palace source, the pressure of being a royal “makes [Meghan] overreact sometimes — she doesn’t have Kate’s assured way of dealing with people.” Comparisons aside, it’s possible that Meghan’s behavior might go deeper than sister-in-law squabbles.

Many think that Meghan’s reportedly “bad” behavior has more to do with how the entire royal family has treated her than anything else. “There are the more reactionary elements in the Royal Family who do look down on her, and she knows it,” said the third source.

Tabloids have loved to speculate about Queen Elizabeth feelings toward Meghan and Harry’s departure from royal life, with some claiming that the Queen was “devastated” and thrown off guard by the announcement. Still, at least we know one thing for sure. 

Regardless of what any anonymous source says, no one can ever really know what goes on behind those ornate palace gates. And now that Harry and Meghan have officially distanced themselves from their royal duties, the world anxiously awaits their next move in the United States.