This is how Megxit really got off

Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan tell their story of the royal family on Netflix. Her withdrawal from the court is said to have been very different from what was portrayed publicly.

About three years ago, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan stepped down from their royal duties. This was preceded by troubles within the British royal family and media reports that were increasingly directed against the couple. They’ve now told the Netflix documentary “Harry & Meghan” that their withdrawal, which has been referred to in the media as “Megxit” (a combination of Meghan and “Exit,” meaning the end), actually went very differently than the royals and the media did. I represented her.

Accordingly, Harry and Megan wanted to change their place of residence in 2018. They focused first on New Zealand, and then South Africa. At the same time, they offered the Royal House to continue acting on behalf of the Queen, even if they were no longer there. “You can have us, but you get us for free,” Harry explained.

The theory: If they stopped using public funds, it would nullify the media’s argument that their lives were in the public interest – thus ending the media witch hunt.

Finally, the two moved to Canada, where they stayed temporarily. According to their own statements, they wanted to speak to the Queen, who died in September, about a possible move. Harry also promised earlier to make time for him. But on the way to his old homeland, he suddenly gets the message: “She’s busy. She’s got plans all week.” During a phone call with her, she explained, “I didn’t know I was busy. I was told I was busy.”

For Harry and Meghan, obviously some people would have positioned themselves between the grandchildren and the grandmothers. “When there’s direct conflict between a family and a family business, they forbid you to see the Queen. In effect, they forbid a grandson to see his grandmother,” says Meghan.

Harry ended up talking to his father, now King Charles III, about retirement plans. The 74-year-old asked his son at the time, “Can you write that down?” But Harry didn’t want to at first, because previous plans to move to South Africa had already been leaked to the press – and this time they did.

Harry is sure how this happened: “The Foundation obviously leaked the fact that we’re moving to Canada.” The media knew he and Meghan were ready to part ways with their Sussex titles – that was also in the script.

So, in consultation with their team, they issued a statement that they would cut back on their royal duties — but not step down, they stressed. They just wanted to be “half in and half out,” Harry explains. A conversation about the future was initially rejected and only arranged when Megan returned to Canada. “It was obvious to me that they planned it so that she wouldn’t be in the room,” Harry tells his wife in the documentary.

So it came down to a meeting at Sandringham in January 2020 without Meghan. There it was explained to him that “half in, half out” was out of the question for the remaining members of the palace. “It was scary to have my brother yelling and yelling at me and my father saying things that weren’t true and my grandmother sitting still and accepting everything,” he recalls.