MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry’s rift with the royal family appears worse than ever one year on from their final official engagement.
Exactly a year ago today, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made their final royal outing to the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey
Read our Meghan and Harry live blog for the latest news...
365 days later, Megxit tensions are higher than ever after the couple sat down for a bombshell tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey.
They made explosive revelations including claims that a member of the royal family raised concerns about Archie’s skin colour and the Duchess was denied help when she felt suicidal.
Here are how things unfolded between then and now:
Commonwealth Day 2020
On March 9, 2020, Harry and Meghan held each other’s hands in a united front as they sat with the Royal Family for their last public engagement at the Commonwealth Day service.
They then took their seats – with tradition dictating that sixth-in-line Harry sits with Meghan in the second row of seats behind the Queen, Charles, Camilla, William and Kate during the service.
Despite speculation of a rift between the couples, Meghan was seen waving and saying hello as Kate and William took their seats.
Harry, sitting with uncle Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex, was also seen smiling at brother Wills, saying “hello”.
Unlike the year before, Harry and Meghan did not join the Queen’s procession through Westminster Abbey.
Move to North America
Following the couple’s departure to Canada, it was revealed that Prince William and Prince Harry’s relationship had been “forever changed”.
An insider said: “They won’t get back to the way they were. Harry is looking straight ahead at his future with his family.”
It was reported that the Duke and Duchess felt “immense relief” after stepping back as senior royals.
A source told People: “This is what Meghan and Harry have always wanted — to create their own life. It’s got to feel like an immense relief to get out of the UK and go down their own path.”
The pair only stayed in their £11million waterside mansion on Vancouver island for a few weeks before fleeing to California at the beginning of the pandemic.
The couple then permanently relocated to California at the end of March and lived in Hollywood tycoon Tyler Perry’s plush $18million home.
They were reportedly introduced to Perry through Oprah Winfrey, who they are also working with for an exclusive new documentary series.
Harry and Meghan then announced their charitable foundation, Archewell, which derives from the ancient word arche or “source of action”.
Bombshell biography
Last August a biography about the royal couple was released which aimed to “set the record straight” and to show that they had “no choice but to quit as royals”.
The book revealed how the relations between the Sussexes and the Cambridges grew bitter over time.
The Sussexes apparently felt their complaints were not taken seriously and believed other royal households were leaking stories about them to the press.
“There were just a handful of people working at the palace they could trust,” the authors write.
“A friend of the couple’s referred to the old guard as ‘the vipers’.
“Meanwhile, a frustrated palace staffer described the Sussexes’ team as ‘the squeaky third wheel’ of the palace.”
Harry and Meghan “liked being in control of their narrative” in the early days of their marriage, the authors add.
But being told to operate under Buckingham Palace’s umbrella after splitting their household from the Cambridges’ was “a big disappointment to them”.
In November it was understood that Prince Charles was saddened that he didn’t get to spend time with his grandson at Frogmore Cottage.
Fresh start
It was hoped in January of this year that Meghan and Harry would rekindle the relationship they once had with the Royal Family with a source saying: “Family disagreements tend to lose heat with distance and time.
“[They] are hoping 2021 can be a time of healing not just for the world but for their family.”
Megxit review
But in February Meghan and harry were stripped of their patronages.
Buckingham Palace confirmed the couple will no longer hold their formal positions with a range of military, arts, Commonwealth and sporting organisations.
But the decision is said to have come as a bitter blow to Harry and Meghan who, despite wanting to remain in the US for personal and financial freedom, believed they could still represent the public-facing bodies.
A royal source told the PA news agency they had “absolutely, no question” they wanted to retain the positions they had lost.
Oprah interview
Yesterday, nearly a year after their final royal outing, the couple’s interview with Oprah Winfrey aired on ITV.
Prince Harry revealed in their interview that his family had cut him off financially at the start of 2020 after announcing their Megxit plans.
The Duke of Sussex said there was a “lot of hurt” between him and his dad – but insisted he had not “blindsided” the Queen when announcing he and Meghan were stepping back as senior working royals.
He also about his relationship with older brother William, saying he loved him “to bits” but he and the future king were “on different paths”.
It is now feared the Duke may have severed ties with those once closest to him.
The Duchess also dramatically disputed widely reported claims that she made Kate Middleton cry before her wedding with Harry, claiming that in fact Kate had made HER cry and later apologised for doing so.
She also revealed she had felt suicidal and “didn’t want to be alive anymore” after joining the royals.
Halfway through the interview Harry joined Meghan to say he is terrified of “history repeating itself” following the tragic death of his mother Princess Diana, and admitted he feels “let down” by his father’s lack of support.
The couple also claimed Archie mysteriously wasn’t made a prince shortly after a disturbing conversation with an unidentified senior member of the Royal Family who expressed “concern” over his skin colour.
On a happier note, Meghan and Harry also revealed their second child is due in the summer and that scans show she will be a girl.
Royal reaction
According to reports, Prince Charles was left in a “state of despair” while Prince William was “beyond livid”.
Buckingham Palace is yet to officially respond to the tell-all chat.
The Prince of Wales put on a brave face as he was seen for the first time since the interview today.
When asked by a reporter what he thought of the chat, Charles, who was visiting an NHS vaccine centre in London, gave a nervous chuckle and carried on walking.
But according to a friend of the prince, Charles was “in a state of despair” ahead of his son’s interview with Oprah Winfrey which aired in the UK last night, Vanity Fair reports.
A ‘well-placed source’ had also told the magazine: “I know he [Harry] has spoken to the Queen and he has been in regular email contact with his father.
“Depending on what he and Meghan say, this could be very damaging for family relations and possibly the nail in the coffin for his relationship with William, who is beyond livid over the interview.”
