Queen’s aides hit a ‘deadlock’ as they try to finalise details of Megxit deal

Meghan Markle never stepped foot inside the shabby Canadian women’s refuge that she has been praised for visiting, DailyMail.com has learned.

Nor did she actually meet with any of the 500 at-risk women who use the Downtown Eastside Center in one of Canada’s poorest areas.

Instead the Duchess of Sussex went to the Vancouver organization’s administrative offices in a former hotel building, where she met only with members of staff, acting executive director Kate Gibson told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview.

Logistics for the visit to the center itself would have been too difficult, Gibson explained. For one thing the center only allows in ‘women and those who self-identify as women’ so Royal Protection Officers would have had to stay outside, she said.

‘It would have been a way bigger deal for her to have actually met our clients in a trip to the center,’ she added.

Even so, Meghan’s visit was fraught with security issues. The offices on the ground floor of the former New World Hotel are just across the street from a tent city that has grown up for the homeless in Vancouver’s Oppenheimer Park.

There have been two shootings and one man was beaten to death in the park in the past several months, Gibson said. She described the area as ‘shockingly poor.’

Megan visited in an effort to ‘offer support’ and ‘boost the staff’s spirits’.  

Meghan also visited another women’s group, Justice for Girls, during her trip from the home on Vancouver Island where she is staying. JFG describes itself on its website as an organization that ‘promotes social justice and an end to violence, poverty and racism in the lives of teenage girls who live in poverty.’

Each visit lasted around an hour. A Wednesday tweet from JFG said: ‘Yesterday, the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, visited to discuss climate justice for girls and the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Was great to talk about the importance of a holistic approach to social justice and the power of young women’s leadership.’

JFG co-director Zoe Craig-Sparrow told Harper’s Bazaar: ‘We were very moved by the duchess visiting us despite terrible weather conditions in Vancouver and her very recent arrival.

‘We were struck by how engaged and informed she was on the issues we discussed, and how quickly and gracefully she put us at ease.’

Gibson of the Downtown Eastside Women’s Center said she was given just 24 hours’ notice of Meghan’s plan to visit. She got an email saying that ‘someone’ would like to speak to her, giving a number to call.

‘I emailed back that I didn’t know who it was and asked for details and for them to give me a call,’ she said, admitting that she had an inkling as the number she was given started with 44 which she recognized as the international code for the United Kingdom.

She said the whole visit was arranged very quickly but was affected by bad weather that canceled ferries and threatened flights from the island. Eventually Meghan made the trip by seaplane.

‘The weather certainly complicated things,’ said Gibson, who heads up the $5.1 million-a-year shelter that employs more than 50 people.

Gibson selected a handful of workers to meet with the duchess but only told them she wanted them for a meeting. She admits there was ‘a bit of giggling’ when her staff realized who was coming in.

She said Meghan seemed genuinely interested in the work of the center and felt the Duchess had welcomed the opportunity to step back from the pressure of her day-to-day life.

‘I found her as a woman who understands how life works for women — hers is just amplified but at the end of the day we are all women. She just doesn’t need any more pressure.’

Now Gibson hopes that Meghan might take a long-term interest in the center which provides beds and hot meals for at-risk women, but does not know if that will happen. ‘It is certainly not for us to put pressure on,’ she said.

Meghan’s outings on Tuesday come after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex dropped the bombshell news that they were quitting as senior royals, dividing their time between North America and the UK and working to become financially independent last week. 

The news caught the Royal Family and the rest of the world off guard. 

Meghan and 8-month-old son Archie have been staying at a $14 million mansion called Mille Fleurs in North Saanich on Vancouver Island since last Friday.

She and Prince Harry had stayed there for six weeks around Christmas. Harry is expected to fly back out to reunite with his family next week after hashing out details of the couple’s decision to step back as senior members of the royal family.

He carried out his last official duty as a royal, presiding over the draw for next year’s Rugby League World Cup at Buckingham Palace on Thursday morning. 

A close friend revealed to DailyMail.com that Meghan feels she can finally ‘breathe again’ since quitting as senior royal. 

‘Meghan felt she had to escape because living within the royal confines was soul crushing,’ the friend said. 

The friend said: ‘She told her inner circle of friends that her soul was being crushed and that the decision to leave was a matter of life or death – meaning the death of her spirit.

‘She also felt like she couldn’t be the best mother to Archie if she wasn’t being her true, authentic self. Something she felt she couldn’t be in the royal family confines.

‘She said she didn’t want Archie picking up on her stress and anxiety. She felt like it was a toxic environment for him because there was too much tension and pent-up frustrations.’ 

Beaming Meghan Markle drives herself to Canadian airport to pick up a friend as speculation mounts among courtiers that she will NEVER return to live in Britain in a ‘meaningful way’ 

 ByMegan Sheets For Dailymail.comand Martin Robinson, Chief Reporter For Mailonline

Meghan Markle took full advantage of her newfound independence from the Crown as she drove herself to a Canadian airport to pick up a pilates expert pal who jetted in from the US for the weekend.

The Duchess of Sussex was spotted in photos obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com parked outside Victoria International Airport in a Land Rover Discovery on Thursday afternoon. 

She appeared to be in high spirits as she chatted with a male companion in the front seat, believed to be personal security, for about 10 minutes until her friend Heather Dorak arrived. 

Ms Dorak, who hails from San Antonio, Texas, but lives in California, became Meghan’s pilates guru and attended the royal wedding in May 2018 with her husband Matt Cohen. She runs the Pilates Platinum brand, which the Duchess started attending in Los Angeles when she starred in Suits. 

The friends were also both pregnant at the same time in late 2018, but their children were not with them at arrivals yesterday afternoon.

5,000 miles away in London her husband Harry made his first public appearance since the Megxit bombshell – and potentially his last engagement as a frontline royal – at the draw for the Rugby League World Cup at Buckingham Palace yesterday. 

And Harry and Meghan’s staff at Frogmore Cottage are reportedly being ‘let go’, in the surest sign yet the couple will settle permanently in Canada with the Duchess strongly rumoured never to return.

The event, which saw the prince chatting to youngster’s in the Queen’s garden, was marked with an official Instagram video set to Stone Roses hit This Is The One, which famously features the lyrics: ‘I’d like to leave the country for a month of Sundays’.  The extraordinary blunder had nothing to do with Harry, palace officials said later, blaming the event’s organisers for the choice of song despite it being released via the official Sussex Royal account.

Meghan’s airport sighting came eight days since she and Prince Harry announced that they would be quitting their duties as senior royals and splitting their time between the UK and North America. 

Meghan is believed to have driven herself to the airport from the palatial £10.7million [$14million] Canadian mansion on Vancouver Island where she’s largely been holed up since Thanksgiving with Archie and his nanny.  

Meghan maintained a low profile by donning a black beanie, over-sized sunglasses and fur-lined black parka. 

She removed the sunglasses for a brief moment before putting them back on to block out the harsh late-day sun. 

A smile spread across her face when she spotted her friend approaching the car with a suitcase and tote bag in tow. 

The friend slipped into the backseat of the crossover before reaching over to hug Meghan in the driver’s seat.  

It’s unclear where the trio were headed off to when they left the airport – but Meghan’s broad grin indicated she was excited about the destination. 

The Duchess of Sussex first broke cover on Tuesday for the first time since her bombshell announcement when she left the Vancouver Island mansion to visit a women’s shelter in Canada’s poorest neighbourhood.    

Harry  made his first public appearance since the Megxit bombshell at the draw for the Rugby League World Cup at Buckingham Palace on Thursday. 

Harry raced through the launch of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup – dodging any questions about his future at a highly-orchestrated Buckingham Palace event. 

Harry and Meghan’s Instagram account Sussex Royal, one of the key parts of their brand going forward, marked the occasion by releasing an Instagram story showing the grinning prince larking around behind the scenes. 

And in what could be interpreted as nod to his imminent exit to North America, the soundtrack was the Stone Roses’ indie hit This Is the One, which contains the lyrics: ‘I’d like to leave the country for a month of Sundays’. 

Furious Buckingham Palace officials claimed Harry had no input in the choice of song, insisting that it was picked by event organizers.  

The Rugby League World Cup appearance could potentially be Harry’s last job as a senior royal before he moves to Canada.

The Queen, Harry’s 93-year-old grandmother, was said to be particularly hurt by Meghan and Harry’s decision to step down as senior royals.  

After the Sandringham summit, the Queen issued a rare personal statement that made clear her regret that the Sussexes had decided to step down.

But she said she respected their wish to live a ‘more independent’ life and had given her permission for them to spend time in Canada, as well as the UK, while these ‘complex’ matters were being resolved.

The biggest sticking points are understood to be the couple’s desire to earn their own living and how far they should be allowed to ‘commercialise’ their roles, as well as what royal duties they will still be expected to carry out.

The British and Canadian governments are also involved in talks about residency and security issues. 

A plan is likely to be announced within days. Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan’s staff at Frogmore Cottage are reportedly being ‘let go’, in the surest sign yet the couple will settle permanently in Canada. 

At least two permanent employees – a house manager and a cleaner – are being moved to other duties within the Queen’s household.

Other members of staff who are used on an ad hoc basis, such as chefs, maids and footmen, have been told their services are no longer required at the couple’s Windsor residence.

Sources said Harry and Meghan operated Frogmore, on the Queen’s Windsor estate, with a ‘skeleton staff’ and no-one was being made redundant. But it is understood the employees are having to switch jobs as a ‘knock-on effect’ of the couple’s decision to relocate to North America for at least part of the year.

The revelation will fuel speculation among palace officials that the Duchess of Sussex, in particular, will never return to Britain to live in a ‘meaningful’ way. 

When they made their announcement last week, Harry and Meghan made clear they wished to keep the five-bedroom home in Windsor, which was a gift from the Queen. It was previously five separate staff cottages but was knocked into one larger residence, controversially using £2.4 million ($3.14 million) of taxpayers’ money.

On their new website, Harry and Meghan state that the Grade II-listed building in Windsor Home Park was owned by the Queen and was refurbished from the Sovereign Grant, given to her by the Government, as part of her responsibility to ‘maintain the upkeep of buildings with historical significance’. 

The duke and duchess said they wished to continue to use it as their official residence ‘as they continue to support the monarchy and so that their family will always have a place to call home in the United Kingdom’.

It is not clear whether the Queen will accede to that request, although sources have indicated she is privately unhappy at the amount of money spent on it when the couple will be there for significantly less time.

Also on Thursday, DailyMail.com obtained exclusive photos of Meghan’s ex-husband Trevor Engelson visiting a hair salon in Beverly Hills.  

It marked the first time Engelson had been photographed in public in several months and since Meghan and Harry’s announcement.   

Engleson politely declined to comment on the royal drama as he left the salon and got into his Porsche 911.   

The 43-year-old Hollywood producer from from Great Neck, New York, began dating Meghan in 2004 before she became famous on Suits. They dated for six years before getting engaged in 2010.

The couple married in Jamaica in September, 2011 in front of 100 family members and friends.

But within weeks of their wedding Meghan won her break-out role on TV legal drama ‘Suits,’ and spent months each year filming in Toronto, Canada while Engelson stayed at their home in Los Angeles.

The distance eventually took its toll and they separated in the summer of 2013.

Their marriage officially ended in 2014 with ‘irreconcilable differences’ cited in their divorce papers. 

Engelson has since moved on, however, marrying nutritionist and heiress Tracey Kurland, 33, on May 11 last year, almost exactly a year after Meghan and Prince Harry tied the knot. 

A close friend of Meghan’s weighed in on the royal drama in an interview with DailyMail.com published Thursday, revealing that the duchess feels she can now do what she pleases without asking for permission after her decision to quit as a senior royal. 

‘Meghan felt she had to escape because living within the royal confines was soul crushing,’ the friend said. 

The insider friend explained that the Meghan feels she can ‘finally breathe’ since she relinquished her royal duties and has free reign over her life again.

They also explained that Meghan felt that living within the royal family confines was ‘soul crushing’ and she didn’t want her son around such a ‘toxic environment’, deciding to leave in part for his benefit. 

The friend said: ‘She told her inner circle of friends that her soul was being crushed and that the decision to leave was a matter of life or death – meaning the death of her spirit.

‘She also felt like she couldn’t be the best mother to Archie if she wasn’t being her true, authentic self. Something she felt she couldn’t be in the royal family confines.

‘She said she didn’t want Archie picking up on her stress and anxiety. She felt like it was a toxic environment for him because there was too much tension and pent-up frustrations.’

Now that the Queen has agreed to allow her and Harry to split their time between the UK and North America, the friend said Meghan ‘has a lot up her sleeve that she wants to do’.

Meghan ‘will continue making surprise visits to different places that help women and children. She wants to feel embraced by her community, something she says she didn’t feel in the UK. She felt stifled and restricted.’ 

DailyMail.com revealed earlier this week that Meghan had the full support of her mother Doria Ragland to leave, as a source said the 63-year-old ‘was really worried about Meghan… and is relieved that her daughter is putting her mental health and well being first’.

The insider said Meghan was ‘miserable in the UK’ and ‘wasn’t sleeping well and started having anxiety attacks about her future’.