They flew over to celebrate the Queen’s jubilee earlier this month, but after a frosty reception, which saw them booed by some members of the public, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left early – retreating back to their Californian haven.
And in the weeks that have followed, it’s become clear that US-born Meghan, 40, and Harry, 37, are starting to put down roots in LA, where the couple and their children – Archie, three, and one-year-old Lilibet – reside in an £11 million mansion in the exclusive neighbourhood of Montecito.
Last week, Meghan was photographed supporting Harry during a polo match at their local club in Santa Barbara.The couple have also developed a close network of friends, including neighbours Ellen DeGeneres, Oprah Winfrey and Orlando Bloom.
Harry’s teammate, Nacho Figueras – who has been dubbed the “David Beckham of polo” – and his wife, Delfina Blaquier, have also become close friends of the couple, and sources have revealed how Nacho has become a confidante for Harry while his feud with his family still rumbles on.
January marked two years since the Sussexes’ announced they were stepping down as senior royals to lead a more private life and become financially independent.
But a year later, the true reason behind their dramatic departure surfaced during their March 2021 interview with Oprah, which saw Harry and Meghan launch an attack on the royal family – accusing them of racism and bullying, and claiming they had ignored Meghan’s mental health struggles to the point that she had become suicidal.
Meghan and Harry are since thought to have undergone therapy, with Harry claiming in recent interviews that he’s far more content, something royal expert and author of Prince Harry: The Inside Story, Duncan Larcombe, now questions.
“He seems homesick to me,” he tells Closer. “Harry’s suddenly playing polo again and drinking with his new friends – all things he used to enjoy doing in the UK.
“Meghan is cheering him on on the sidelines, helping create this perfect LA life for him to justify what he’s given up in the UK. But something doesn’t seem to sit right. Harry looks unhappy.
“He is living out there in self-imposed exile and Harry is a very sociable person. In his formative years he had lots of friends – including his estranged brother William – and was always spending time with them. He must sometimes wonder if everything he has given up has been worth it.”
Their new life is a far cry from how they have described their former roles in the royal family, claiming their movements and choices were vetted in order to protect the reputation of the monarchy.
However, the couple – teamed with Prince William and Kate Middleton – were previously dubbed the “fab four” after working together on their joint initiative, the Royal Foundation, and Meghan and Harry were by most accounts, given the freedom to explore and contribute to causes close to their heart.
Harry became president of The Invictus Games and supported the British Armed Forces, and Meghan became royal patron for the National Theatre and animal charity Mayhew, as well as teaming up with victims of the Grenfell Tower tragedy to release a cookbook – raising £500,000.
But while the couple pledged to continue doing charity work following their relocation, with sources saying Meghan had planned to become a “global humanitarian” – their work and appearances have become few and far between.
And after raking in multimillion-pound business deals with the likes of Spotify and Netflix following their departure – two years on they have little content to show for it, and producers behind the streaming giant are said to have become impatient.
Meghan and Harry are now said to have signed up for a fly-on-the-wall series filmed at their family home, and Meghan’s first podcast, Archetypes, is set to air this August.
But earlier this month, Meghan was criticised for staging paparazzi shots while laying flowers at the recent tragic school shooting in Texas, and Duncan says Harry and Meghan appear torn over what move to make next.
He says, “At the Jubilee we got to see what the reality is of Harry and Meghan choosing not to be senior royals. It’s like they’ve chosen to live their life out in the cold and that’s where they are going to stay for now. I can’t imagine that secretly there isn’t some form of heartache for Harry.
“The Queen and Harry’s family want him to be happy, but what they have never wanted is for he and Meghan to set up some sort of rogue royal unit. Perhaps this message is finally sinking in.
“But people will always have their eyes on Harry now, wondering how his life will turn out. He’s taken a huge gamble.”