Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s six-week vacation before stepping back from royal duties and moving to America was so secretive that even their nanny was kept in the dark.
Harry and Meghan’s decision to leave the royal family was controversial and even left some staff members in tears, according to a royal author.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex went on a Canadian vacation during fall 2019 before returning to the U.K. and dropping their bombshell departure announcement in early 2020. During their stay, the Sussexes shared a message declaring, “Wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours.”
Though their location remained heavily guarded at the time, the maple leaf emoji accompanying their Thanksgiving post served as a telling hint when viewed retrospectively. Reports also surfaced that their son, Prince Archie, would spend portions of the visit with Meghan’s mom Doria Ragland.
Archie wouldn’t set foot in the U.K. again until 2022, when he attended the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. The Sussexes made their solo return in January 2020, with Meghan departing after just days to care for him.
Buckingham Palace maintained their silence regarding the couple’s location throughout fall 2019 but verified the pair wouldn’t participate in the royal family’s traditional Sandringham Christmas gathering.
This development fueled speculation about brewing royal tensions before Harry and Meghan’s explosive revelation just weeks afterward. In his book, Courters, royal author Valentine Low delved deep into the enigma surrounding Harry and Meghan’s whereabouts in the weeks leading up to Megxit.
He wrote, “When Harry and Meghan went to Canada for their six-week break in November 2019, their escape was planned with the greatest secrecy.
“When the trip was announced – it was supposed to be ‘family time’ according to the Palace, and definitely should not be seen as a holiday – Meghan was so concerned that news of their destination would leak that the couple would not even tell their nanny, Lorren, where they were going.
“‘What sort of weather should I pack for?’ she asked. According to one source, she did not know where they were going until the plane – a private jet, not Air Canada, as claimed by [the book] Finding Freedom – was in the air. Meanwhile, staff had been growing increasingly suspicious about the couple’s long-term intentions.”
Low disclosed that palace employees were already becoming skeptical that Harry and Meghan might permanently move to America, until Meghan revealed to one of her staff members that they wouldn’t be returning.
The author stated that Harry and Meghan taking all their personal belongings with them to Canada “seemed quite a big hint.”
However, nothing was confirmed until Meghan “confided towards the end of the year in a member of her personal staff that they were not coming back.”
The rest of the team reportedly did not find out until the couple held a meeting at Buckingham Palace at the beginning of January. The author suggested staff “found it hard to accept they were being dumped like that. Some were in tears.”
On January 8, 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex sent shockwaves around the globe when they announced their intention to step back from their roles as senior working royals.
Just five days later, on January 13, a royal assembly was convened at Sandringham to discuss the situation, an event now known as the Sandringham Summit, presided over by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The late monarch, King Charles, Prince William and Harry were all present at the meeting, but Meghan was absent. At the time, it was reported that the Sussexes didn’t believe it was “necessary for the duchess to join”.”
Following the summit, the Queen released a statement saying, “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.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.the-express.com ’
