Related Articles
Royal family
Prince William didn’t always have a great relationship with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle — and he was reportedly annoyed when the two were awarded a royal role that he wanted.
Over the last seven years, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been slowly drifting further from the royal family. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex effectively separated themselves from Harry’s family back in 2020 after relentless bullying from the press — and the royals doing little to stop it. But the tension started brewing behind the scenes even without the help of the press.
Tensions brewed between Harry and his brother, Prince William, long before Harry and Meghan officially stepped down. And according to royal expert Katie Nicholl, things only continued to escalate years ago when Harry and Meghan were reportedly rewarded with a royal role that William “had his eye on.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle received a role Prince William wanted
Sibling rivalries aren’t unheard of, but Harry and William have been at odds for several years. The two had always had petty disagreements, but they stuck by one another’s side through everything. However, after they each found life partners in William’s wife Kate and Harry’s wife Meghan, tensions started to rise. At one point after Harry married Meghan, William reportedly wanted a royal role that the queen chose to give to the Sussexes instead.
Royal biographer Katie Nicholl explained in her book “The New Royals” that William “had his eye on” a certain role. According to Express, Nicholl explained that Harry and Meghan were given “very senior” roles “in the Commonwealth trust,” which William “quite fancied for himself.”
Charlotte Griffiths, who covers the royal family for Mail on Sunday, noted that William “must have been feeling” a lot of “frustration” over Harry and Meghan’s high-level roles. “Things were being fast-tracked left, right and center [for Harry and Meghan], even things that William had his eye on,” she added. Ultimately, it didn’t matter; Harry and Meghan wound up leaving the royal family entirely and moving to California.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are no longer affiliated with the royal family
By blood, Harry will always be a prince. His father is King Charles III, the current ruler of the monarchy, and someday his brother, William, will become king. However, outside of that, Harry and Meghan have no official working royal roles within the family. When the couple left, they had to give up their HRH titles (His and Her Royal Highness), though the queen allowed them to keep their Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles as a formality.
Harry and Meghan have gone on to make their own money and do their own charitable work outside of the patronages they once had as working royals. Meghan recently received the Ms. Foundation’s Women of Vision Award, which she was given for her work with women and helping women to fight stereotypes. One way Meghan did this was through her podcast, Archetypes, which was just involved in a high-profile split from Spotify. Still, Harry and Meghan continue to do philanthropic work through their Archewell Foundation and are reportedly planning to shift Meghan’s podcast to another streaming service. For now, Harry and Meghan seemingly have no plans to return to the working royal family or take on any royal roles.
