Couple far apart as royals wrangle

Prince Harry and wife Meghan were taking the first steps into their new independent life thousands of kilometres apart yesterday.

Buckingham Palace confirmed that Meghan had returned to Canada, where the couple and their 8-month-old son Archie spent the holiday season at a secluded luxury home on Vancouver Island.

The former actress has longstanding ties to Canada. Toronto was her home for seven years while she starred in the American TV drama Suits, and was where she and Harry started dating, having met in London in July 2016.

The couple made their first official public appearance together in Toronto, in September 2017 at the Invictus Games, which were founded by the prince.

According to online reports, Archie has been staying with Meghan’s close friend Jessica Mulroney, a fashion stylist and TV host whose husband, Ben, is the son of the former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney, at the waterfront mansion on Vancouver Island that the Sussexes enjoyed during their time in Canada.

Harry has a scheduled engagement on Thursday at Buckingham Palace, carrying out the draws for the Rugby League World Cup. He had other private work events in his diary next week, although no further public engagements, palace sources said.

‘‘I imagine that he will be anxious to get back to his wife and baby,’’ a source said. They added that Harry and Meghan had commitments in Britain in the coming months and would not be basing themselves permanently in Canada.