Mom mode! Meghan Markle was spotted enjoying her time in Canada with 8-month son Archie and the family’s dogs as her husband, Prince Harry, flew from London to join them.
Markle, 38, was photographed on a walk with her son and two dogs in Vancouver Island, Canada, on Monday, January 20, smiling amid royal step back drama. In photographs published by the Daily Mail, she was bundled up, wearing a beanie and hiking boots as she carried Archie in a harness through Horth Hill Regional Park.
The same day, Harry, 35, reportedly hopped on a flight to return to his wife and son after remaining in London to sort out the details of his and Meghan’s new roles within the royal family. The Telegraph reported that the prince missed Prince William’s first solo reception at Buckingham Palace on Monday evening.
Harry attended a meeting of African leaders in London earlier in the day, before heading back to North America to be with his family, one day after speaking out about his and Meghan’s evolving roles and admitting that the changes left him with “great sadness” but there was “no other option.”
As Us Weekly previously reported, Buckingham Palace released a statement on Saturday, January 18, saying that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family.”
The decision comes a little more than a week after Meghan and Harry announced on January 8 that they will split their time between North America and the U.K. and would be working to become “financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen,” while stepping back from their “senior” roles.
The couple intends to pay back an estimated $3.1 million spent in Sovereign Grant funds to refurbish Frogmore Cottage, which will remain their U.K. home. It’s believed that Harry’s father, Prince Charles, will give the couple just under $3 million annually.
Queen Elizabeth II said in a statement on Saturday that she is “pleased” that they have “found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family” who wish to lead a “more independent life.”
Since the couple released their shocking statement in early January, the former Suits star returned to Canada on January 10, to be with their son, who was left behind with a nanny following the trio’s holiday hiatus in December 2019.
The former actress made her first public appearance on January 14 with an unannounced visit to a women’s center in Canada where she had tea with the group of women.
“Look who we had tea with today!” the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre captioned a photo of the California native with a group of eight other women on its Facebook page. “The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, visited us today to discuss issues affecting women in the community.”
