MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry have thanked UK health workers from their new California mansion as the world battles the coronavirus crisis.
As thousands of Brits applauded the doctors and nurses on the front line from their homes and on their balconies on Thursday night, the couple took to Instagram to also offer their support.
“Thanking you for all that you continue to do!” a post from The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s official Instagram account read.
“Applauding you from across the pond.”
The post was accompanied by multiple clapping hand sign emojis with the hashtags #clapforourcarers and #NHS.
SUPPORT ACROSS THE POND
At the same time, Brits across the country showed their support by joining in a mass round of applause from inside their homes, on balconies and in their gardens.
Landmarks lit up for frontline healthcare workers, while Brits up and down the nation clapped in The Clap For Carers campaign to thank NHS workers across the country.
Some set off fireworks as loud cheers rang across the UK to thank those risking their lives to fight the deadly virus.
Princess Charlotte, Prince George and Prince Louis also joined in to show their support, as The Palace tweeted: “#ClapForOurCarers is an opportunity to show our thanks and appreciation for @NHS workers, volunteers and all those working on the frontline.
Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak also posted a video outside Downing Street.
CALIFORNIA MOVE
Prince Harry and Meghan fled Canada amid the coronavirus pandemic and have moved permanently to California.
They took a private flight to the Los Angeles area before the borders between Canada and the US were shut.
The Sussexes will set up a new home close to Hollywood, where we are told they are currently living in lockdown with their ten-month-old baby Archie.
Last night a royal insider said: “Harry and Meghan have left Canada now for good. The borders were closing and flights were stopping. They had to get out.
“But this move was planned for some time. They realised Canada would not work out for various reasons and they want to be based in the Los Angeles area.
“They have a big support network there. It’s where their new team of Hollywood agents and PRs and business managers are based. Meghan has lots of friends there and, of course, her mum Doria.
The bombshell move — dubbed Megxit 2 — has “stunned and horrified” members of the Royal Family.
They believed that Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, would consider returning to Britain to help their relatives.
A growing health crisis, has seen Prince Charles, 71, test positive for Covid-19 and The Queen, 93, and ailing Prince Philip, 98, put into self-isolation.
MEGHAN’S RETURN TO SHOWBIZ
News of the shock move came as US entertainment giant Disney yesterday pushed ahead with the release of a charity film about elephants, for which Meghan provides the voiceover.
The deal is believed to have been done after Harry cornered the company’s boss Bob Iger at the premiere of The Lion King in London last year.
Disney sources said the release had been long planned to coincide with Earth Month, which begins next Wednesday and was not changed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The film will raise money for the charity Elephants Without Borders.
Our sources say the arrangement is another indication of where the couple see their priorities going forward.
The royal insider explained: “For Meghan, this type of work is going to be coming out of Hollywood going forward.
“She feels comfortable there around her people and has projects already planned like her children’s book.”
The Sussexes left the £10.7million mansion they were borrowing in Vancouver and took a flight out of the city shortly before US President Donald Trump and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau closed the border between their countries.
The couple landed in the LA area, which includes Bel Air — the posh neighbourhood of 1990s Will Smith sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Royal courtiers believe the decision to move full-time to the US makes a mockery of the couple’s earlier pledge that they chose Canada because they wanted to live in a Commonwealth country.
One said: “We are stunned and horrified. The country is going through a traumatic event at the moment. They have a beautiful cottage in Windsor where they could have based themselves.
“It’s just a stone’s throw away from where the Queen and Prince Philip are in self-isolation.
“Prince Charles and Prince Andrew are both out of action too for very different reasons.
“This was an opportunity for them to put country before their own interests. California isn’t going anywhere.”
HOAR first revealed Harry and Meghan’s plan to quit the UK in a world exclusive, left, in January.
We told of the couple’s plans to relinquish their HRH titles and relocate their office to Canada.
Within hours, the Sussexes released a statement confirming the story, but making it clear they wanted to continue conducting some royal duties.
Their plan was overruled by the Queen at a historic summit where it was made clear to the Sussexes they could not remain senior royals while making their own money.
She instituted a one-year transition period allowing them to change their mind.
They have also been banned from using their Sussex Royal moniker in the future, but have been able to keep their Frogmore Cottage mansion at Windsor — even though they have offered to pay back the money taxpayers spent on renovations.
There is also a row about whether UK taxpayers should continue to foot the bill for the couple’s security, expected to cost up to £20million annually.
Despite the couple’s friendship with Mr Trudeau, Canada has ref-used to contribute to their security costs after they officially leave the Royal Family on March 31.
Megxit caused a growing rift between Harry and Meghan and Prince William and Kate.
Harry’s relationship with father Charles has also been left incredibly strained.
The Queen has been desperate to ensure Harry and Meghan remain on side with the family, especially after sources close to the couple suggested they could give a bombshell US TV interview suggesting the royal institution is racist.
Earlier this month we told how the Queen had a four-hour heart-to-heart with Harry at Windsor Castle over lunch where she told him: “You are much loved and will always be welcomed back.”
Last night a spokeswoman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not comment.
