Harry and Meghan quit working royal life five years ago

Prince Harry once shut down the prospect of a return to royal duties with Meghan Markle.

Harry and Meghan quit working royal life back in 2020. Ever since, there has been speculation over whether they’ll one day return…
Harry spoke about a return to royal duties for him and Meghan in 2023 (Credit: Good Morning America / YouTube)

Prince Harry on a return to royal duties with Meghan Markle

Back in 2023, following the release of his controversial autobiography, Spare, Harry sat down for an interview with Good Morning America.

During the interview, the Duke of Sussex, 40, was asked whether he would ever return to life as a working royal.

However, the duke didn’t have high hopes for a return, confessing he didn’t think “it’s ever going to be possible”.

Continuing, Harry said: “Even if there was an agreement, or an arrangement between me and my family, there is that third party that is going to do everything they can to make sure that isn’t possible.

“Not stopping us going back, but making it unsurvivable.”

The third party the duke was seemingly hinting at was the media and/or competing royal press offices. However, he didn’t confirm.

Harry also spoke of his place in the royal family (Credit: CoverImages.com)

Prince Harry talks royal exit

Harry continued at the time, claiming that his late mother, Princess Diana, would be “heartbroken” by the rift between himself and Prince William.

He also claimed that the late Queen Elizabeth II hadn’t been angry with him for stepping back from working royal life.

“She knew what was going on. She knew how hard it was,” he said.

Harry added: “She never said to me that she was angry. I think she was sad it had got to that point.”

Speaking about the royal family, he said: “I can’t ever get out [of it] and I’m incredibly aware of my position. I’m incredibly grateful for the life that I’ve had and continue to live. But there’s no version of me being ever able to get out of this.”
The queen had her concerns (Credit: CoverImages.com)

Queen Elizabeth was left ‘fearing for disaster’ after Sussexes’ royal exit

Harry has previously claimed that the queen wasn’t angry that he’d quit life as a working royal. However, according to one royal source, the late monarch was left fearing for “disaster” following Harry and Meghan’s decision to quit working royal life.

In their statement when they made the momentous decision, the Sussexes said they would “continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties”.

The use of the word “collaborate” reportedly set alarm bells ringing in the palace, however.

“No one ‘collaborates’ with the Queen. This is not one of those ‘Kate Moss Top Shop tie-ups’,” a source told the Daily Mail.

“This is exactly why Queen Elizabeth knew this whole half-in, half-out version of royalty they were lobbying for was never, ever going to work,” they continued.

“Harry and Meghan were a law unto themselves from the start, pushing and pushing the envelope to their own professional and financial advantage. Her Late Majesty was nobody’s fool and knew that the chances were, it would all end in disaster.”

Royal Insider contacted Buckingham Palace and the Sussexes’ representatives for comment on that story.