Megxit one year on: Was it a success story for the Sussexes?

The day before they dropped their ‘Megxit’ bombshell a year ago, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were feeling “energised and refreshed” after a six-week sabbatical in Canada. On a visit to the Canadian High Commission in London to pay tribute to the warm welcome they had received during their extended Christmas holiday with their baby son Archie, Harry and Meghan put on a touchy-feely display as they prepared to announce a series of high-profile engagements to mark their return to royal duties.

Yet, within hours of leaving Canada House hand in hand, they were drafting an explosive Instagram post that would spark fears of a full-blown constitutional crisis, the likes of which had not been seen since the Abdication of 1936.

When they announced their decision to “step back” as senior members of the Royal family, it was not only their blindsiding of the Queen that caused upset but also the boldness of their ambition to leave their newly refurbished taxpayer-funded home in the grounds of Windsor Castle in favour of seeking “financial independence” in North America.

It forced the 94-year-old monarch to issue a rare first-person statement in support “of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family”, and prompted an emergency summit at Sandringham, at which the terms of the “divorce” deal were thrashed out: they would still formally be known as Their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but would refrain from using the “HRH” prefix. They would no longer receive taxpayer funds, nor carry out official royal duties. They would also abandon the brand name “Sussex Royal”.

The Duke would later say: “The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly […] There really was no other option.”

But, 12 months on, it’s fair to say that ‘Megxit’ hasn’t quite worked out how either side might have expected.

While the royals, including the Queen, have done their best during a pandemic-stricken year to buoy up British morale with virtual engagements and Zoom speeches, the Sussexes have carved their own path as Britain’s highest-profile expats.

Locked-down in their £11million Santa Barbara mansion, having signed multi-million-pound deals to produce content for streaming services Netflix and Spotify under the auspices of their new “Archewell” brand, Harry and Meghan could not seem further removed from the day-to-day workings of the monarchy. After sub-letting Frogmore Cottage, their extravagantly refurbished Windsor home, to pregnant Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank, they have cut almost all ties with their former life in Britain.

Instead, they have focused their energies into money-spinning endeavours to establish themselves as the US’s own royals, with Harry giving lucrative speeches for the likes of JP Morgan, and Meghan investing in a “superlatte” start-up endorsed by chat show supremo Oprah Winfrey.

Keen to flex their muscles as independent operators, they have issued writs against photographers and newspapers they claim have invaded their privacy (while laying bare their own deep emotions after the Duchess suffered a miscariage in July); and tacitly condoned (if not actively collaborated with) the authors of a biography-cum-hagiography entitled Finding Freedom.

They even hosted their own Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Los Angeles National Cemetery after Harry’s request for a wreath to be laid on his behalf at the Cenotaph was denied. That photo opportunity – along with several specially recorded videos – formed the backbone of the Sussexes’ public contributions outside the Firm.

And yet, having supposedly found their freedom, they are reportedly now keen to extend the one-year transition period, the “cooling-off” clause included in the Sandringham breakaway deal, in order to tie up loose ends. And plenty of those are about to loom very large indeed – not least the future of Harry’s military ties.

The former Army captain was so upset about a Mail on Sunday report in October claiming he had lost touch with the Royal Marines, of which he was Captain General until that privilege was withdrawn, that he is suing the publisher, Associate Newspapers. It comes as Meghan’s own case against the newspaper for publishing a private letter she wrote to her estranged father Thomas Markle Snr resumes, sparking more anxiety behind palace gates.

As one source put it: “No one can understand what can be gained from any of it. The only winners will be the lawyers charging by the hour.” Aides are still at pains to point out that the couple are not in exile, but rather “living independently according to their own wishes, with the Royal family’s support”.

What certainly hasn’t helped to thaw still-frosty Royal relations is Covid-19 having kiboshed all plans for return visits to the UK by the Sussexes. New lockdown restrictions introduced by the Prime Minister last week appear to have put paid to the Duke being able to attend his one-year-on transition talks in March. Similarly, royal-watchers calculate that Prince Philip hasn’t seen his great-grandson Archie since autumn 2019.

It is not yet known whether either or both Sussexes plans to attend the low-key celebrations being planned to mark the Duke of Edinburgh’s 100th birthday in early June, or Trooping the Colour, which marks the Queen’s official birthday, on June 12. According to royal author Phil Dampier, the only occasion in the royal diary guaranteed to unite Harry and William will be the unveiling of the statue of Diana, Princess of Wales, in Kensington Palace Gardens, on what would have been her 60th birthday, on July 1.

“It’s slowly thawing between William and Harry,” he says, “but I don’t think things will ever be the same. I’m sure the brothers will put on a united front for the statue unveiling, but behind the scenes things are still extremely fraught. It’s very difficult to patch up the wounds when they are living on the other side of the world from each other.

“Prince Philip doesn’t want much of a fuss for his 100th birthday in June, but if there’s a family dinner, you’d have thought that Prince Harry would want to be at that. Whether he’d want to bring Meghan… I think there are doubts over how welcome she’d be.”

Much depends on the “Megxit” review at the end of March, which, in the absence of either of the Sussexes being able to travel, will be held virtually.

Dampier believes the couple would be best served by volunteering to relinquish their titles. “It’s obvious Harry and Meghan are not coming back, and have very much made their life in America, so the best thing for all is for a line to be drawn,” said Dampier.

“I think they should volunteer to renounce, or at least not use, their ducal titles, so they face no further criticism of cashing in. The Queen would be very reluctant to take them away – Harry is still her beloved grandson – but only then would they be totally free to do whatever they like.”

Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, agrees that a clean break is needed, pointing out that being a working royal and signing lucrative commercial deals are “polar opposite” positions. “They’ve moved to America and are not coming back, so we all need to move on. Senior bods in the Royal Marines, for instance, would like some clarity over who their Captain General is supposed to be.”

Next month will mark the start of the 70th year of the Queen’s reign. As Megxit comes to an end, all sides will be hoping – if not desperately searching – for a new beginning.