Four years on from ‘Megxit Day’, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle remain as distant as ever from the UK royals.
The couple’s formal departure from their official duties was a seismic moment that changed the face of the British monarchy.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a full-time move to the US, where they now live in Montecito, California, with their son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, four, and daughter, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, two.
Taking on a slew of media and philanthropic roles, they have scored some successes but also presided over a flow of controversies as they have taken aim at the Palace over issues such as race, ‘unconscious bias’ and revealed intimate aspects of their previous royal lives.
One of the most incendiary set-pieces to date was the ‘nuclear’ Oprah Winfrey interview in March 2021, where Meghan said ‘concerns’ were raised about Archie’s skin colour before he was born.
Another bombshell came almost a year later with the publication of the duke’s best-selling memoir, Spare, with the title being a reference to what he claimed was his place as a ‘spare heir’.
Harry, 39, made a number of explosive claims in the book, including that his brother, Prince William, physically attacked him and knocked him to the floor during a row and that he killed 25 people while serving with the British military in Afghanistan.
His accounts of life in the fold further drove a wedge between the couple and the ‘firm’, the colloquial name for the royal family, with allegations that Kate made Meghan cry and that King Charles was jealous of the attention William and Kate received.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said: ‘Megxit, when Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior working royals and took up residence in California, was undoubtedly a disaster for the royal family.
‘The way they monetised their royal antecedents worked brilliantly at first.
‘Their interview on Oprah was like launching a nuclear weapon at the firm, though the Queen’s rejoinder “some recollections may vary” came to be regarded as a more accurate summary of events.’
The couple officially stepped back on March 31, 2020, which was dubbed ‘Megxit Day’, after announcing the move just over a year earlier.
After the break, they clinched deals with Spotify and Netflix and launched their charitable organisation, Archewell, named after their son.
At first, California seemed an ideal fit for the couple, with Megan, a former actor, wasting no time landing a role narrating Elephant, a Disneynature documentary.
Four years of ‘Megxit’
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Harry and Meghan issue a statement saying they will step back as ‘senior’ royals and ‘work to become financially independent’
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Harry and Meghan attend their last official engagement at the annual Commonwealth Day service in Westminster Abbey
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The duke and duchess make a series of explosive revelations in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that creates global headlines
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The couple’s ‘Harry & Meghan’ Netflix series is released in two parts and makes several claims about the royal family, including that members briefed the press against them
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Harry’s tell-all book is finally put on sale and contains many of the biggest revelations about his and his brother’s relationship, with Harry going on to refer to him as his ‘archnemesis’ as well as ‘beloved brother’
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The couple launches their Sussex.com website with a clean, elegant design that gives prominence to their royal titles and lists their charitable interests
‘They initially had enormous sympathy in America, given Meghan’s background, and the royal family lost support, especially amongst the young and in the Commonwealth,’ Mr Fitzwilliams said.
‘In 2021 they were among Time’s top 100 of the world’s movers and shakers.
‘The Harry and Meghan documentary on Netflix and Harry’s best-selling memoir, Spare, plus the interviews promoting it, showed their bitterness about how they believed they were treated and launched further fierce attacks on the firm.
‘Contracts with Netflix, Spotify and Random House showed them riding high. Yet they did remarkably little that was new.
‘Spotify abandoned them and the polls in America showed their popularity taking a heavy hit.
‘In Britain their ratings were terrible and after Spare they were evicted from Frogmore House, their base in Britain, by the King.’
Omid Scobie’s biography, Endgame, continued the flow of allegations, including describing Catherine, Princess of Wales as ‘cold’ and again taking aim at perceived racism in Buckingham Palace.
The drive to take on the establishment has been accompanied by Prince Harry’s pursuit of UK media titles through the law courts.
Mr Fitzwilliams said: ‘Harry has declared his life’s work is to “clean up” the British media and he became the first royal to appear in the witness box since Edward VII as Prince of Wales in 1891 in a case against Mirror Group Newspapers which he won. More cases are to follow.
‘However their attacks on the royal family led to a deep rift, especially with William, and their eviction from Frogmore Cottage, their base in Britain.
‘Like all their activities, this has been worldwide news.’
Despite the divide with the UK royals, the couple’s new Sussex.com website gives prominence to their royal titles with a more refined look than might be expected of a couple courting Hollywood.
Meghan, 42, has used the site to announce her tie-up with the Lemonada Media podcast network.
The duke is described as a humanitarian, military veteran, mental health advocate and environmental campaigner, with a list of causes he supports including the Invictus Games, Sentebale and Wellchild.
Meghan is described as a ‘feminist and champion of human rights and gender equity’. Her bio says she is one of the most influential women in the world according to lists run by prominent media titles.
The cancer diagnoses of King Charles III and the Princess of Wales, announced within the space of a few weeks, have since thrown a new light on the cross-Atlantic relations.
Despite the duke flying into the UK from Los Angeles for a private meeting with his father on February 6, a lasting reconciliation with the British royals, at least in the public glare, does not seem to be on the horizon as the couple carve out new roles.
‘Many ask what the Sussexes have actually achieved and their recent projects, such as Meghan’s contract with Lemonada Media and new lifestyle blog, seem modest, despite her change of agent,’ Mr Fitzwilliams said.
‘They are hardly Hollywood A-list but they are also unpredictable.
‘The causes they support, feminism and diversity, have more articulate champions.
‘Three years on one can ask, when not attacking the royal family, what have they actually achieved that is successful as well as constructive?’
Professor Pauline Maclaran, an author on royal culture at Royal Holloway, University of London, views the future for the duke and duchess as one in which they establish more distinct identities under their respective names.
Meghan launched her new American Riviera Orchard lifestyle brand earlier this month at a time when the couple are said to be seeking new PR representation in the UK.
‘The couple have had their ups and downs in the US over the last three years,’ Pauline said.
‘What we see now is the couple trying to make a new start, with the duke and duchess developing stronger personal brands rather than doing everything together.
‘They of course still brand themselves as a couple, with the Sussex identity relaunched in their new website. However Meghan is going in new directions, or old ones, depending on how you look at it, with her new lifestyle brand and forthcoming Netflix cookery show.
‘Harry has Invictus and his other charitable causes.
‘They are still using their royal connections to differentiate themselves, which can be seen clearly in the branding of Sussex.com.
‘But I think they will continue to develop these more personal directions.’
In one of his latest public appearances, Prince Harry spoke via video link to recipients of the Diana Legacy Award who had gathered at the London Science Museum.
Prince William attended the biannual event on March 15 in person to honour outstanding young people in the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, but there was no crossover between the brothers.
The function took place on the same date that Meghan launched her luxury brand with a mock-vintage Instagram video briefly showing her in a kitchen.
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