Harry and Meghan’s decision was dubbed ‘Megxit’

January 8, 2020 – the day the news broke that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced they had decided to leave the royal family as working members, but it would be a long time before we found out why.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed they wanted to step back from their senior roles within The Firm, spend more time in North America and become financially independent.

It caused shockwaves around the world, and it soon was dubbed Megxit.

The idea of a rift within the family had been circulating for more than a year, but we wouldn’t find out why Prince Harry and his wife decided to leave the royal family until they opened up years later.

We explore the fallout that erupted afterwards, the legal battles, and the brotherly bond that appears broken beyond repair.
Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior royals in January 2020 (Credit: Cover Images)

What happened before Megxit?

The first indication of tensions behind palace doors took place in March 2019, less than a year after Harry and Meghan tied the knot.

Buckingham Palace explains the Sussexes are setting up their own household and moving away from the joint operation with Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Before this and in the lead up to the wedding, the two couples were hailed The Fab Four. But that seemed to have changed somewhere down the line.

Newspapers began reporting on insiders claiming there were rifts between the two couples.

Harry reveals ‘rift’ with William

Later that year, the Duke himself refers to a rift with William, now first in line to the British throne. While speaking to ITV for the documentary on the Sussexes first official tour in southern Africa, Harry and Meghan mentioned they were struggling with the intense scrutiny from the media and online.

Harry admitted he and William have “good days” and “bad days”.

When he was asked if there was a rift between them, he said that “inevitably, stuff happens” as a result of “this family being under the pressure that it’s under”.

The royal, who claimed he was the ‘spare’ to the throne, added: “We are brothers. We will always be brothers.

“We are certainly on different paths at the moment, but I will always be there for him as I know he will always be there for me.”

January 2020 arrives, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle explain they have decided to leave their roles within the royal family. Reports at the time claim it was a shock to the late Queen Elizabeth II and The Firm.
Harry spoke about brother William and Kate in his book Spare (Credit: Cover Images)

What was the Sandringham Summit?

The royal family gathered for what was dubbed the Sandringham Summit days later, to discuss Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s decision to leave the royal family in a working capacity.

The Queen reportedly said she wished they would stay, but respected their choice to live an independent live between the UK and Canada – which was their initial plan.

Meghan was already overseas, so was not present, and as the first discussions were taking place in the afternoon, it’s said she was not ‘called’ due to the time difference. However, Kensington Palace later dismissed rumours Meghan had been purposely shut out, and instead said she and Harry decided she didn’t need to join.

90 minutes of intense discussion led to a rare personal statement from the former monarch.

It wasn’t common for the royals to dish out personal details publicly.

Queen’s statement

She said: “Today my family had very constructive discussions on the future of my grandson and his family.

“My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family. Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working Members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family.

“Harry and Meghan have made clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives.

“It has therefore been agreed that there will be a period of transition in which the Sussexes will spend time in Canada and the UK. These are complex matters for my family to resolve, and there is some more work to be done, but I have asked for final decisions to be reached in the coming days.”

Harry detailed another side to the summit, calling it ‘terrifying’.

He later said in 2022: “It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me, and my father say things that simply weren’t true and my grandmother quietly sit there and sort of take it all in.”
The Duke said the Sandringham Summit was ‘terrifying’ (Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images)

Harry and Meghan told to drop royal and HRH titles

10 days of talks led to a new announcement, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will drop their royal and HRH titles now they’ve decided to leave the royal family.

Buckingham Palace announced on January 19, the couple would no longer use their His/Her Royal Highness titles, receive public funds for duties, and formally represent the Queen.

The Sussexes also put a plan in place to repay £2.4 million of taxpayer money which was used to refurbish Frogmore Cottage estate, where they lived in the UK. They completed this before officially handing the keys back to the royals.

The Queen said “Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved members of my family,” and thanked the pair for their “dedicated work”.

The monarch also added she was “particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family”.

The palace also added: “While they can no longer formally represent the Queen, the Sussexes have made clear that everything they do will continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty.”

By the time February 2021 rolls around, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tell the Queen they will not return as working members of the royal family, and stick with their choice to leave.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said a lack of support and the British press was why they decided to leave the royal family (Credit: Cover Images)

Why Prince Harry said he decided to leave the royal family – in his own words

The couple sat down for a sensational tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.

They made several allegations, including that a member of the family had raised concerns about the colour of Archie’s skin when he was born. The royals later denied these reports, with Prince William telling reporters they were ‘very much not a racist family’.

Harry said the “toxic environment” of royal life and racism was part of the reason they left the UK. He added they moved to Canada and then Montecito, Los Angeles, after being cut-off financially by his father and losing security.

The couple signed lucrative deals with Netflix and Spotify, rumoured to have totalled £120 million, which they used to privately fund security for their family. It came after Donald Trump, during his first term in the presidency, said the US would not pay for their protection.

The Queen put out a rare statement after the interview aired, detailing that although ‘recollections may vary’, they would deal with the matters privately as a family.

Two months later, Harry accuses his family of “total neglect” in his mental health docu-series called The Me You Can’t See.

Harry said: “I felt completely helpless. I thought my family would help – but every single ask, request, warning, whatever it is, just got met with total silence or total neglect.”
The Sussexes now live in California with their two children (Credit: Cover Images)

Duke’s fears in Netflix documentary series

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle explained again in December 2022 why they decided to leave the royal family. It was in their Netflix series Harry & Meghan.

The now 40-year-old explained to the camera that he found similarities between how his mother, the late Princess Diana was treated, and his wife Meghan.

Harry said he understands “there will be people around the world who fundamentally disagree with what I’ve done and how I’ve done it, but I knew that I had to do everything I could to protect my family”.

“Especially after what happened to my mum. You know I didn’t want history to repeat itself.”

After their relationship became public, Harry says his family questioned why the future Duchess of Sussex should have security when they were only dating.

He said: “The direction from the Palace was don’t say anything,” adding his family asked why she should have “special treatment”.

Harry then alleged: “I said: ‘The difference here is the race element’.”

The dad-of-two filmed the couple leaving the country on a plane, where he said he felt “being part of this family, it is my duty to uncover this exploitation and bribery that happens within our media.”

He mentioned his children in the series, saying he wanted to be able to tell them he ‘did something’ when they look back at what happened when they were older.
Prince Harry has launched three legal battles in the UK in a bid to get his security reinstated, but lost (Credit: Tayfun Salci/ZUMA Press/Cover Images)

‘Working with the devil’

Prince Harry spoke about the press many times, detailing it was part of the reason he and Markle decided to leave the royal family.

He claimed other royals would give negative stories to the press to make themselves look ‘better’.

He further claimed they felt threatened by their popularity. Harry alleged: “There’s leaking, but there’s also planting of stories. So, if the comms team wants to be able to remove a negative story about their principal, they will trade and give you something else about someone else’s principal.

“You can always say, ‘I didn’t know about this.’ But have you done anything to stop it? And the answer is no.”

Harry continued: “William and I both saw what happened in our dad’s office, and we made an agreement that we would never let that happen to our office. I’d rather get destroyed in the press than play along with this business of trading. And to see my brother’s office copy the very same thing we promised we’d never do, that was heartbreaking.”
The Duke of Sussex said his father King Charles won’t speak to him (Credit: Mischa Schoemaker/Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images)

Prince Harry gave more reasons as to why he left the royal family in his bombshell memoir Spare

The now dad-of-two aired more of the royal family’s dirty laundry in his memoir Spare, which came out in January 2023. He claimed the failure of the palace to defend him and Meghan was seen as ‘betrayal’.

He alleged his brother Prince William saw a ‘red mist’ during a physical altercation between them, and accused other royals of getting in “bed with the devil” by using the tabloids.

In a US interview to promote his book, he said he was “stunned” The Firm allowed the Home Office – British government – to take away the Sussexes’ security.

He launched three legal battles in a bid to get his security reinstated, or have the option to pay for police protection, while he and his family were in the UK. In May 2025, he lost his third battle and said he would no longer pursue it. The judicial fight has cost UK taxpayers more than £650,000 so far, with the total figure expected to reach £1 million.

The Firm also did not release any public statements in response to his book.
Meghan claimed a royal had ‘concerns’ over Prince Archie’s skin colour before he was born – which was denied by The Firm (Credit: Cover Images)

Prince Harry wants to patch things up with the royal family 5 years after he and Meghan Markle leave

Following his recent legal battle loss, the Duke sat down with the BBC for a rare interview.

He confessed that he couldn’t bring his wife or two children – Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet – to the UK over fears of their safety.

He claimed his father King Charles “won’t speak to me because of this security stuff.” Harry said he wanted to move on from the royal rifts as he did “not know how much longer my father has” after news his father was diagnosed with cancer in 2024.

“There have been so many disagreements between me and some of my family,” the duke added.

“I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point continuing to fight any more, life is precious.”

Why did Meghan Markle leave the royal family – in her own words

During the 2021 interview with celebrity pal Oprah, Meghan revealed she had thoughts of suicide while she was pregnant with Archie.

She claimed that the institution did not offer or allow her to seek help, and she reached out to her husband to support her.

Meghan further claimed the royals ‘changed protocol’ to deny him a royal title, and refused their son security when he was born. However, this was later proved to be false, as Archie was entitled – and did – receive his Prince title when Charles ascended to the throne.

Then, in the Netflix series, we saw a personal recording of the Duchess. Meghan filmed herself when the couple arrived in Canada, and she claimed in a clip: “Unfortunately, in us standing for something, they are destroying us.”

She also claimed in the series that she was not invited to the Sandringham Summit, after the palace explained she was.

She responded: “And you, as the mom and the wife and the target, in many regards, aren’t invited to have a seat at the table.”