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“Indignation” for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle came down to “two things,” according to a historian. Why King Charles III, Prince William, and the palace were unhappy with the couple, from a website to going “above their pay grade” and more, ahead. 

King Charles and Prince William didn’t like Harry and Meghan unveiling their exit plan ‘as a done deal’ 

According to biographer and historian Robert Lacey, part of the king and William’s anger stemmed from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s website. 

Not their current Archewell website home to Archewell Productions, Archewell Audio, and the Archewell Foundation. Rather their no-longer updated Sussex Royal website.

Lacey told The Mail on Sunday there was no agreed-upon plan in place when it went live. 

“The way that they revealed their entire ‘Sussex Royal’ plan as a done deal on their new website when it wasn’t a done deal at all” contributed to the anger toward the couple, Lacey said.

Only later, after talks dubbed the “Sandringham Summit,” did Harry and Meghan update the website with details on their “Spring 2020 Transition.” 

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle discussing matters ‘above their pay grade’ didn’t help either

King Charles and Prince William, whose 'indignation' toward Prince Harry and Meghan Markle included the Sussex Royal website, speaking on matters 'above their pay grade' and more according to a historian, walk with Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle, and Prince Harry
King Charles, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle, and Prince Harry | Stephen Pond/Getty Images

Lacey identified Harry and Meghan’s willingness to “pronounce on royal matters that were far above their pay grade,” as another source of anger. 

“There was a very strong feeling that went right to the top that the only person who can talk about the royal family doing things in a different style was the queen herself, or possibly Charles,” he explained. 

The exit may have resulted in a tighter-knit royal family. However, it reportedly “hurt” the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Author Katie Nicholl wrote as much in The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy and the Future of the Crown, quoting a friend of the monarch’s.

The queen “confided” she’d felt “exhausted by the turmoil of their decision,” Nicholl wrote. “She was very hurt and told me, ‘I don’t know, I don’t care, and I don’t want to think about it anymore,’” the person said.

Financing for the Sussex Royal website another sore point for Prince William and King Charles, according to biographer 

Prince William and King Charles, whose 'indignation' toward Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stemmed from Sussex Royal website to addressing matters 'above their pay grade' according to Valentine Low's 'Courtiers' book, stand with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
Prince William, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and Prince Harry | Richard Pohle/ Pool/AFP via Getty Images
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William and the king’s “indignation” included another “grievance,” according to Lacey. The funding for the Sussex royal website.

“The Sussex Royal website was the work of Meghan’s American team of staff,” he said. “Yet it had been paid for by Charles’s subsidies to Harry.” 

“That was a big source of grievance,” he added. 

Harry and Meghan are back in the U.S. after Queen Elizabeth’s funeral on Sept. 19. More than two years after their exit, they live in Montecito, California, with their two children.

As for relations with the royal family, Meghan opened up about the exit in an August 2022 interview, saying she’s trying to forgive.