When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to step down as senior members of the Royal Family in 2020 and moved to California, it sent shockwaves globally. The late Queen Elizabeth was arguably the most affected by this decision, as she strived to keep the remaining Royal family united during this turbulent period.
Despite maintaining a brave front during public appearances, the late Queen was reportedly devastated behind the scenes over her grandson’s choice to permanently leave the UK and the Royal family. A Royal author has suggested that the late monarch was “exhausted” by the situation, informally referred to as ‘Megxit’.
In her book The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy and the Future of the Crown, Royal expert Katie Nicholl claims that Her Majesty “didn’t want to think about it” when asked for her thoughts on the matter.
The book alleges that an insider, discussing the late Queen’s reaction to Harry and Meghan’s departure from the Firm, said: “She (the late Queen) was very hurt and told me, ‘I don’t know, I don’t care.’
The source added that she said, “I don’t want to think about it anymore.” Despite her understandable distress over the situation, Queen Elizabeth did her best to maintain some form of relationship with her grandson, even after he moved halfway across the world.
It is widely believed that this event marked the only occasion the Queen met her namesake great-granddaughter, Lilibet.
Despite enjoying some interactions with her great-grandchildren, Queen Elizabeth felt disheartened by the infrequency of these visits, particularly missing their presence at the traditional Balmoral sleepover weekend.
Katie Nicholl reveals in her book the Queen’s deep regret: “It was a source of sadness to the Queen that she got to see so little of Archie and Lilibet and that Harry and Meghan were not able to join her for a weekend at Balmoral in August when the Queen used to host a ‘sleepover’ for all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”