Prince Harry has reflected on his decision to step down as a working royal and move to America, alongside his wife, Meghan Markle, noting his thoughts in his explosive memoir, Spare. Despite reports of rocky relations between Harry, Meghan and the Royal Family, since the release of the memoir and live TV interviews, Harry wrote he fled the UK “in fear of our sanity and physical safety”.
Exclusive: Prince Harry ‘determined to find his own permanent home in the UK for sad reason’
In Spare, he describes a visit to Frogmore Cottage, following his return to the UK for Prince Philip’s funeral where he talks about his reasons for moving. He writes: “When my wife and I fled this place, in fear for our sanity and physical safety, I wasn’t sure when I’d ever come back. That was January 2020. Now, fifteen months later, here I was, days after waking to thirty-two missed calls and then one short, heart-racing talk with Granny: Harry… Grandpa’s gone.”
Prince Harry reveals the moment he became ‘enemies’ with his brother as William plotted revenge
Author Omid Scobie has previously written about Meghan’s decision not to come back to the UK. In his book Endgame, Omid said Meghan “never wants to set foot again in England.” He claimed she didn’t want to “dive back into the soap opera of the court”. Since living in America, Harry has been battling decisions regarding his level of security during visits to the UK. The Duke of Sussex will be able to appeal against a High Court ruling which dismissed his challenge to downgrade his level of personal security when he visits the UK.
The bizarre title Meghan Markle would take on if King removed Duchess of Sussex role
Prince Harry first took legal action against the Home Office in 2020 over a decision that he should receive a different degree of taxpayer-funded protection after stepping down as a working royal. In February, the High Court ruled that the decision was lawful and dismissed Harry’s case, before in April refusing him permission to challenge that ruling in a higher court.
Real reason Prince Harry and King Charles are failing to patch up their relationship
But the Court of Appeal has now said it will hear his challenge following a direct application from Harry’s lawyers. His case against the government is one of a series of legal challenges the prince has brought to the court. Harry and Meghan’s relocation to America was primarily motivated by their desire to prioritise their family’s mental health as also stated on James Corden’s ‘The Late Late Show’ in 2021 on CBS.
Asked by Corden about the couple’s decision to walk away from royal duties, Prince Harry said: “It was a really difficult environment as a lot of people saw. We all know what the British press can be like. And it was destroying my mental health. I was like, this is toxic.”
Prince Harry last visited the UK for the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games in May in a rare public appearance, with the strained relationship with his family dominating attention, as King Charles was not in attendance, nor any immediate Royal Family members. Before that, Harry had previously visited the UK to visit his dad, King Charles, after his public announcement regarding his cancer diagnosis. Harry had made a quick 25-hour visit to London to pop into Clarence House for a meeting with the King before returning to the US.
