Two years ago, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced on Instagram their desire to step back from the royal family and divide their time between the UK and North America, in the hope of a more peaceful and financially independent life. A completely unexpected announcement since even on the side of the palace, no one was aware, except Prince Charles, warned a few hours before … Since then, the Sussexes have perhaps succeeded in rebuilding their lives in California, far from protocol and media pressure, but relations with the royal family have suffered greatly from this rupture.
Two years later, are tensions finally a thing of the past? Difficult to say as the subject is passed over in silence. On the side of the Firm, the silence is not surprising as the clan is known for its impassivity in storms. The only comments were those of Queen Elizabeth, in official statements published at the time of the “Megixt” negotiations and showing little sentiment. The only exit from the road: that of Prince William, in March 2021, the day after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah Winfrey on American television …
To the Sussexes’ comments suggesting that members of the royal family had displayed racism at the time of the birth of their son Archie (in May 2019), Prince William replied, hotly: “We really are not a racist family“, he launched on the fly to a journalist, during a school visit with Kate Middleton. For the Duke of Cambridge, this shocking interview was obviously the last straw, he who was particularly touched by the hasty departure of his younger brother, to whom he was so close.
The reunion of Prince Harry and his family took place in a particular context: the funeral of Prince Philip, who died last April and was buried with great pomp in Windsor. The Duke of Sussex did exchange a few words with his relatives, with Kate Middleton in the role of mediator, but he quickly returned to California, where Meghan Markle was waiting for him, pregnant with their second child. The birth of little Lilibet in June 2021, so baptized in homage to the intimate nickname of Queen Elizabeth, could have brought the clan together … But the choice of the first name finally caused a new crisis between two continents. No one in the royal family has yet had the opportunity to meet little Lili.