Still rocky. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have yet to get on the same page as their royal relatives across the pond more than one year after stepping down from their senior duties.
While discussing the updated edition of his highly publicized book, Finding Freedom, royal reporter Omid Scobie claimed the Sussexes have been “thriving” in California since their March 2020 exit. However, the Suits alum, 40, and her husband, 36, haven’t entirely patched things up with the rest of the royal family.
“When we speak to sources close to the couple and also sources close to the royal family, there is this feeling that very little progress is being made,” Scobie told Good Morning America on Tuesday, August 31. “However, some feelings have subsided because time has done its things, so the door is very much open for those conversations to happen at some point.”
The ABC News contributor, who penned Finding Freedom with Carolyn Durand, added, “I think one thing was clear from both sides is that everyone feels that some accountability and ownership in each other’s roles in all of this has to be taken for people to move forward. Whether that happens, we shall see.”
In January 2020, the Archewell cofounders shocked the world when they announced that they would be stepping away from their roles as senior royal. Two months later, they relocated to the United States with their son, Archie, now 2. Daughter Lilibet “Lili” Diana joined the family in June.
Earlier this year, Buckingham Palace confirmed that Harry and Meghan would not return as working royals. Soon after, the pair sat down for an eye-opening interview with CBS, outlining their departure in more detail.
“[There was] a lack of support and lack of understanding,” the former military pilot claimed in March. “My biggest concern was history repeating itself, and I’ve said that before on numerous occasions, very publicly. … When I’m talking about history repeating itself, I’m talking about my mother, [Princess Diana].”
The Invictus Games founder noted that he was alarmed by the overt racism and bias about his wife in the British press. “I hadn’t really thought about the mixed-race piece, because I thought, well, firstly, you know, I’ve spent many years doing the work and doing my own learning,” he said. “But my upbringing in the system, of which I was brought up in and what I’ve been exposed to, it wasn’t — I wasn’t aware of it, to start with. But, my god, it doesn’t take very long to suddenly become aware of it.”
At the time, Harry insisted that he didn’t “blindside” Queen Elizabeth II with his and Meghan’s decision, explaining, “I have too much respect for her.”
As they continue to adjust to life outside of the palace’s walls, the pair are enjoying their newfound independence — and aren’t looking back.
“Harry doesn’t have any regrets about leaving the royal family whatsoever and is really happy in Montecito,” a source previously told Us Weekly. “He and Meghan are enjoying their new life in California — being a normal family and having the freedom to make their own decisions without anyone watching over them.”
According to Scobie, the move to the West Coast has helped the twosome enter “a new chapter” where they can be “very much in control” of their own lives.
“It’s not that they want to disappear or not be seen,” he explained. “It’s simply that they want to choose what they keep private and what they share with the world. … One thing that was said to me very early on when the couple met was this is a couple that want to change the world in whatever way they can, they just need to figure out how. And I think what we’re seeing right now is them having figured it out.”
