Royal rift
Harry and Meghan exiled to Africa, plus William conquers our hearts
It should be a glorious time for the British royal family, with the Queen’s cherished grandson Prince Harry becoming a father for the first time.
Instead, the Duke of Sussex and his new wife Meghan are forcing the palace to an uncomfortable crossroads, in which there are genuine fears the couple will raise their baby away from the royal fold, removed from the influence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as they cement their roles as the future King and Queen of the United Kingdom.
After months of rumours that th all was not well between the th two dukes, their body language la spoke for itself on Easter Ea Sunday during a church service se at St George’s Chapel.
“Harry and William did not speak, sp and Harry only offered a brief pleasantry to Kate,” a longtime lo royal watcher tells. “Harry “H looked very out of place. pl He made all the niceties and an bowed to the Queen, but mostly m looked as if he’d rather be anywhere else on the planet.
“It was a huge difference to before he married Meghan – he h used to love being the third wheel w to Wills and Kate, who has h been like a sister to him. Harry H is a different man now.”
However, Harry looked noticeably n more comfortable alongside al Kate during a
surprise appearance at an ANZAC Day service at Westminster Abbey while his brother was here in New Zealand.
The rift between the brothers reached a public boiling point when a bombshell report in respected newspaper
TheTimesonSunday revealed Harry and Meghan are “being considered” for a representative role which would see them move to Africa for two to three years in 2020.
Given that Harry and Meghan had previously made it clear they’d like to reside part-time in the US, the news was met with surprise by royal watchers, but a well-placed source says it is a considered move by the palace in the hope that it will give William the space he needs as he prepares to take over the role of Prince of Wales when Charles, 70, becomes the king.
The royal courts of the brothers have officially split and the Sussexes have moved from Kensington Palace to their new home at Frogmore Cottage at Windsor Castle, but the last thing the palace wants during this period of transition is the sideshow of Meghan and Harry overshadowing things – and widespread reports of the former Suits actress’ diva behaviour haven’t helped.
While sending the Sussexes to Africa is being viewed as a “banishment” by many, according to the source, Meghan, 37, and Harry, 34, are believed to be OK with the mooted move.
“They have every intention of becoming superstars in their own right and it’s their chance to raise their baby without being stifled by people telling them how to raise a royal child,” claims the source. “Meghan is excited at the prospect of raising her child in a semi-normal environment and you can bet she’ll go full mama bear if the royal family try to get too involved.”
Harry, in particular, has strong ties in Africa and spent his 2004 gap year in Lesotho. He co-founded his Sentebale charity for vulnerable children and young people in Lesotho, Botswana and Malawi in 2006. The prince also dated Zimbabwean Chelsy Davy, 33, for seven years.
Although South Africa is the most likely posting, Harry’s greatest African love is the country of Botswana, where he has focused much of his conservation work and it was there he took Meghan on their third date –
camping under the stars and getting to know each other away from the madding crowd.
The couple returned in 2017 for Meghan’s 36th birthday and both hold roles within the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust – Harry is president and his wife vice-president.
It’s said that Harry’s obvious intentions to distance his family from William and Kate, and their three children, has left his sister-in-law, in particular, shocked and heartbroken.
“Kate hoped that when Baby Sussex arrived, they would finally find common ground,” alleges a source. “In a way, Kate predicted that it would be the baby who saved the royal family from this terrible rift. She hates that William and Harry have fallen out after being as close as brothers can be for their entire lives.”
At its core, friends of the mother-of-three reveal that Kate was simply looking forward to having another little one to love and spoil.
“Kate adores babies – she was born to be a mum and was looking forward to helping and imparting that wisdom on Meghan,” explains the source.
“Family comes first to her, but that doesn’t seem to be Meghan’s philosophy. Of course, everyone’s seen how she cut out her own family the second there was any conflict – and that was long before she married Harry, so it really shouldn’t come as a surprise that she’s going down this route again.”
Palace insiders say there’s now a groundswell of concern among courtiers that Harry and Meghan will not only discourage William, 36, and Kate, 37, from getting too
close to their child, but that they’ll also hide the little one away from the public eye.
“William and Kate understand that the world wants to see their children grow up,” claims a source. “Not to mention the cold, hard fact that the taxpayer funds this idyllic family lifestyle, so Kate is of the opinion that it’s not too much to ask to share a pretty picture every now and then.
“If Harry and Meghan start hiding their child away, it’s going to open up a whole bunch of new problems for the family. There will be public backlash, guaranteed.”
It’s believed that Meghan and Harry have made their feelings about keeping their baby to themselves to everyone, from the Queen down to their own staff.
“That explains the frosty reception towards Harry at the church service,” says the eyewitness at St George’s Chapel. “It’s probably tipped a lot of egos and tempers over the edge from both sides. Harry was completely on the outer; no-one was going out of their way to speak to him.”
The pictures, plus recent images of William and Kate hanging out at the polo with cousin Zara Phillips and her husband Mike Tindall, show most of the senior royals have declared their allegiance to the Cambridges.
“Zara’s in shock about the whole thing,” says a source. “She adores Harry, of course, but I believe there’s a feeling among the older royals that he and Meghan are behaving like spoilt brats. Most of them are Team William. He will be the boss of the family one day, so everyone knows where their bread will be buttered.”