Queen Elizabeth II attempted to convey a strong message using a key tactic when releasing a statement following the Sandringham Summit in January 2020. The late monarch gathered then-Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry to discuss how best to navigate ‘Megxit’ during peacekeeping talks after Harry and Meghan Markle made the bombshell announcement that they wanted to quit their lives as working royals.
Queen Elizabeth II expressed, with regret, that although she would rather have kept Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, as a full-time working member of the Royal Family, respected their wish to live an independent life between the UK and Canada at the time.
Immediately after the ‘crisis meeting’, the Queen issued the following announcement, which mentioned the word “family” eight times. In her brief message, she was desperately reminding Harry and Meghan that they were part of the family.
The full statement released on January 13, 2020, read: “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.”
The couple eventually moved to California after formally stepping down from royal duties in March 2020. Despite the late Queen placing emphasis on her family, Meghan and Harry decided to participate in a tell-all interview with US host Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.
The Duchess of Sussex has said she found life within the British Royal Family so difficult that at times she “didn’t want to be alive any more”.
Meghan said that she allegedly started to feel lonely when limits were placed on what she could do, revealing that at one point she did not leave the house for months.
The statement from the palace, which came a day later after airing, said: “The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.
“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. Whilst some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much-loved family members.”