Queen Elizabeth Reportedly Didn’t Hold Back Her Feelings About Prince Harry’s Royal Exit: Expert

Queen Elizabeth was reportedly upset about Prince Harry‘s decision to exit his role as a senior royal in 2020.

According to royal expert Hugo Vickers, author of the book Queen Elizabeth II: A Personal History, the monarch opened up in a rare moment about her grandson’s life-changing decision.

Vickers appeared on the YouTube channel Palace Confidential, where he revealed what he says the monarch told him privately. He reportedly met the queen over 40 times throughout his career.

“Well, I do remember what the queen said at one point was, you know, one I’m not sure she’s used these exact words, but basically, you know, sort of, ‘One minute he’s captain general of the Royal Marines and the next minute he’s just a childminder,'” Vickers claimed.

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Vickers added that the queen believed that her grandson was “doing a good job before he left.” Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped down from their royal roles in March 2020, moving to California with their son, Prince Archie. They later welcomed a daughter, Princess Lilibet.

The royal author believes that Harry, along with his uncle, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, caused the queen “a lot of anguish” in the last years of her life. “It’s one thing I will never forgive the Sussex’s for is the amount of stress they caused the queen.”

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Vickers concluded that it would be difficult to “work out what’s going on in [Harry’s] head. As far as I can see, he wasn’t that unhappy until his wife [Meghan] came around and told him he was unhappy. That’s my reading of it, but that may be unfair.”

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Prince Harry shared a statement about his beloved grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, following her death in September 2022. He wrote, per PEOPLE Magazine, “Granny, while this final parting brings us great sadness, I am forever grateful for all of our first meetings — from my earliest childhood memories with you, to meeting you for the first time as my Commander-in-Chief, to the first moment you met my darling wife and hugged your beloved great-grandchildren.”

He continued. “I cherish these times shared with you, and the many other special moments in between. You are already sorely missed, not just by us, but by the world over. And as it comes to first meetings, we now honor my father in his new role as King Charles III.”

MORE: On This Day in 2021, Queen Elizabeth Said She’d Deal With Prince Harry, Meghan Markle ‘Privately’ After Oprah Interview

This story was originally published by Parade on Apr 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.