Harry and Meghan considered New Zealand move, says governor-general

THE Duke and Duchess of Sussex discussed moving to New Zealand during a 2018 visit, according to the Queen’s representative in the country, more than a year before they stepped back from royal duties and moved to the US.

Governor-general Dame Patsy Reddy said that the British monarch should remain as New Zealand’s head of state, and described the handtyped letters she sends to the Queen.

Dame Patsy, 67, will leave her largely ceremonial role representing the Queen in New Zealand in October after a five-year term.

Harry and Meghan visited New Zealand in 2018 at the end of a hectic 16-day royal tour of the South Pacific, and Dame Patsy recalled the couple as being tired.

“I remember they’d just been down to the Abel Tasman National Park when we sat down and had a drink, and they said that they could imagine living in a place like this and wondered whether we thought it would be theoretically possible.

“Even possible for them to have a place in New Zealand,” she said.

“Of course, we said, ‘Sure. It would be fine’. There are lots of opportunities to live in New Zealand, but that would be something that they’d have to explore.

“They were looking at how they might raise their family. And obviously they’ve made some decisions since.”

Dame Patsy said she did not view it as a formal request for assistance but more of an informal discussion about the couple’s hopes for the future. She said they seemed impressed with access to the outdoors and their interactions with New Zealanders.

The discussion shows the couple were considering options outside Britain less than six months after they married and well before their eventual move to the US.

Dame Patsy added she regularly expresses her confidential views of what is happening in New Zealand to the Queen, such as the nation’s response to the pandemic. She said the communication “is quite touchingly old-fashioned, by letter”.

“She has told me on the times that I’ve seen her that she finds it interesting to have a personal perspective on what’s happening,” Dame Patsy said.

“As she says, ‘I like to know what’s happening between the lines’.”