Meghan Markle's Tearful Nine-word Admission to a Friend After Leaving the Royal Family

In January 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced their intention to retire from senior working royal duties. Even though Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made the choice together—stating their desire to become financially independent—the former actress has often been held responsible for her husband's departure from his position as a senior working royal.

Based on the 2020 book Finding Freedom, a source informed writers Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand that courtiers at the Palace held Markle responsible for her and Harry's choice. A few weeks after the news, she made an impassioned nine-word confession to a pal as a result of this. As reported by The Mirror, one of the sources cited in the book stated, "The courtiers blame Meghan, and some family do. She, on the other hand, felt she had sacrificed a lot for the royals. As Meghan tearfully told a friend in March: 'I gave up my entire life for this family. I was willing to do whatever it takes. But here we are. It's very sad'."

During that time, the news came as a shock to many as the duo posted to their official Instagram page on January 8 about the plans to step down from the position of royals and start dividing their time between the United Kingdom and North America in 2020. They wrote in the statement, "After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year is starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution. We intend to step back as roles as “senior” members of the Royal Family, and work to become financially independent while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen."

In addition to the allegations made in the book, several British Media outlets at the time held Markle entirely responsible for the departure, which was mockingly called 'Megxit' by others. At the time, several tabloids also claimed that Markle had a role in creating the gap between Harry and Prince William. As reported by Page Six, some royal sources revealed in 2020, "Things were already tense between the brothers when Harry met Meghan, but things became much, much worse after they got married. Harry and Meghan didn’t spend any time with William and Kate, and the two wives don’t get along at all — the distance and the differences between them grew into a vast chasm. William and Kate are far more formal and easily fall in step with royal protocol, Harry and Meghan went in the opposite direction — they have nothing in common."

Furthermore, the news source said that Harry started to isolate himself. According to the insider, it seemed like Markle had completely taken over his life. They also stated, "Everyone is convinced Meghan is the driving force behind this move to quit the royal family. She is the one who most wants to be back living in Canada and California, where she feels happy, and to bring their son, Archie, up away from the restrictive and intrusive politics of Buckingham Palace." The renowned English journalist and broadcaster Piers Morgan also tweeted at the time, "People say I'm too critical of Meghan Markle - but she ditched her family, ditched her Dad, ditched most of her old friends, split Harry from William & has now split him from the Royal Family. I rest my case."