The saga surrounding Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s royal exit took a “terrible toll” on the late Queen, it has been claimed. Royal expert Rebecca English said that while Elizabeth II was understanding of the Sussexes wanting a new life, at times she was left feeling “very low indeed” by the way the drama unfolded.
It comes as Harry and Meghan – who quit the monarchy in 2020 and moved to the US – have made a further raft of allegations against the royals in their bombshell Netflix series.
Writing in the Daily Mail, Ms. English said: “In truth, she was actually very sympathetic to his and Meghan’s desire to seek an ‘alternative’ life, if that’s what would make them happy.
“But the way in which the saga played out so acrimoniously was recently described to me as having taken a ‘terrible toll’ on the Queen’s wellbeing in recent years, leaving her feeling ‘very low indeed’ at times.”
Harry and Meghan make a number of fresh claims about the Royal Family in their Netflix documentary, with the final three episodes of the six-part series dropping yesterday.
The Duke recounted the summit at Sandringham hosted by the late monarch with his father and older brother in January 2020 in a bid to solve the Megxit crisis.
He claimed Prince William erupted at him, while he accused Charles – who is now King – of saying things that were not true.
Harry said: “It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that just simply weren’t true. And my grandmother, you know, quietly sit there and take it all in.
“But you have to understand that, from the family’s perspective, especially from hers, there are ways of doing things and her ultimate, sort of, mission, goal/responsibility is the institution.”
Harry said he was given five options, ranging from “all in, no change” to “all out”, and he chose option three: “half in, half out”.
He added: “It became very clear, very quickly, that that goal was not up for discussion or debate.”
