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Royal expert Katie Nicholl has no doubt that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “had an agenda from the outset” to become independent.
The author and Vanity Fair correspondent told Australian website 9Honey on Monday that while she believed it was “inevitable” that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry would move overseas, she did note the speed at which their lives have turned around “surprised everybody.”
“I was told from a very early stage in their courtship, they had told a friend of Harry’s that Meghan met quite early on that they wanted to be international roving royals and that was going to be their focus,” she told the outlet.
Nicholl shared that the 38-year-old former American actress and the 35-year-old British prince “didn’t want to be stuck in one place” and instead, yearned to make a difference “on a world stage.”
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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex attend “The Lion King” European premiere at Leicester Square on July 14, 2019, in London. The couple’s penchant for private flights has come under fire for its contrast to their environmental consciousness.
(Getty)
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“They had an agenda from the outset — to be international royals,” she said, adding there were signs early on in their relationship that the couple was determined to do things differently.
Despite the move, a source close to the couple told Nicholl for Vanity Fair that Harry was feeling “a bit rudderless” without a job or friends in Markle’s native Los Angeles.
“This is a very strange time for us all, but I think Harry is missing having a structure in his life right now,” claimed the insider. “He doesn’t have friends in L.A. like Meghan and he doesn’t have a job.”
The source said Harry has been keeping busy during the coronavirus outbreak by keeping in touch with friends and colleagues across the pond. He is also “keeping up regular communication” with the charities he is still involved with.
In this January 2020 photo and made available on Monday, April 27, 2020, by Mattel, Britain’s Prince Harry poses for a photo during the recording of his introduction to the new animated special ‘Thomas & Friends: The Royal Engine’. Set when Prince Harry’s father, Prince Charles was a boy, Thomas has to take Sir Topham Hatt, the controller of the railway, to Buckingham Palace to receive an honor.
(Dave Poultney/Mattel via AP)
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“At the moment he’s a bit rudderless, but it won’t always be like this, and he knows that,” said the pal.
The isolation has even encouraged Harry to stay in touch with his older brother Prince William.
“There have been clearly some quite major rifts in that relationship, but things have got better and I know that William and Harry are in touch on the phone,” Nicholl told Entertainment Tonight. “They have done video calls together, they have done a lot of family birthdays and I think with Prince Charles not being well, that really forced the brothers to pick up the phone and get back in touch.”
Harry and William’s father, 71-year-old Prince Charles, recently fought off coronavirus, and between that health scare and Harry feeling homesick after his move, the royals felt it was the “right time” to reconnect, Nicoll told ET. Similarly, the tension between Markle and William’s wife Kate Middleton has simmered down.
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Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (L) and Britain’s Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (2nd R) follow Britain’s Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (C) and Britain’s Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (R) as they depart Westminster Abbey after attending the annual Commonwealth Service in London on March 9, 2020.
(PHIL HARRIS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
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“I think there is a sense of relief on both sides that this high drama is now a thing of the past,” Nicholl said. “The Sussexes are free to get on with their new lives [and] the Cambridges can get back to their old lives without all the upset and drama that was clearly a big deal behind the scenes. I think Kate and William miss Harry and Meghan to a degree, but certainly, they miss Harry [being] around and part of their lives.”
Nicholl told ET that the royal clan likely reunited — albeit virtually — to celebrate the first birthday of Archie, Harry and Markle’s son.
“I am quite sure there would have been communication between the Cambridges and the Prince of Wales and I am told Harry picks up the phone regularly to his grandmother, the queen,” the expert noted. “They had that same call on her birthday. I’m sure there was a Zoom birthday call for Archie, too.”
Now that they’ve carved out a new life for themselves in Los Angeles, Nicholl said they’re enjoying themselves.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend The Endeavour Fund Awards at Mansion House on March 05, 2020, in London, England.
(Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage)
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“They’ve settled into their lives in L.A. and this is the pathway for the future,” she said the outlet. “I’m told they feel a great sense of freedom and they’re really enjoying their new lives and [doing] things a bit more on their terms.”
Nicholl also said that for Harry, continuing the charity work he was rumored to have left behind has been helpful in combatting his homesickness.
“The idea that they would just go over to America and forget about these charities and organizations – particularly in Harry’s case [when] they’ve been a part of his life for so long – that’s absolutely not the case,” the expert told ET. “Harry keeps in touch with them regularly. He probably misses some of the people that he works with. He’s been a patron of charities like WellChild for many, many years [so] he’s forged close friendships there, so yes — he’s missing his friends and picking up the phone for them.”
Fox News’ Nate Day contributed to this report.
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