King Charles Initially Promised Harry and Meghan $860,000 When They Left the Family — But He Took It Back, Report Claims
When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the royal family back in 2020, their exit was heard around the world. It proved that the rumors of tension and disagreement were true, and it suggested that the royal family didn’t have the perfect life that its exterior suggested. However, both Queen Elizabeth and King Charles let the Sussexes leave. Now, a new report claims that Harry and Meghan had planned to receive financial aid from the family in what Charles deemed a “trial year” — but that money was taken away when yet another controversy arose between Harry and one of Prince William’s aides.
King Charles reportedly stripped Harry and Meghan of an $860,000 paycheck after controversy arose
Harry and Meghan might have officially stepped down from the royal family in March 2020, but they actually had funding until June — and were supposed to have it longer, but Charles stripped it, according to Vanity Fair. It’s unclear exactly how much money Harry received, but he reportedly did not get the full $860,000 promised by his father. Now, Express reports that a new investigation might have found the reason: Harry reportedly accused one of Prince William’s aides of selling stories about him and Meghan to The Sun. The accusations were made not long after Harry and Meghan left the family, which caused Charles to withdraw the funding.
Charles reportedly cared so much about the accusation because it could have potentially turned into a lawsuit between Harry and the aide. A source told British newspaper Byline Times, “They threatened the removal of the funding to try and protect the royal household from a potential courtroom scandal,” and that William’s aides would have been at the forefront of that scandal. When Harry refused to withdraw his accusation, Charles withdrew his funding, sending Harry and Meghan completely out on their own. “The actual removal of the funding weeks later was about control and designed to force Harry and Meghan to come back to the senior royal family in the where their security would be assured,” the source said.
King Charles reportedly thought that removing funding would help him regain control of Prince Harry
Charles’ decision to remove funding was reportedly made with the intention of drawing Harry and Meghan back into the royal family, the source claims. “The removal of the transition funding, which Prince Charles knew was his son’s only lifeline to keeping safe, was considered a very effective way of trying to bring Harry and Meghan to heel in the UK. But it didn’t work.”
Of course, we know now that Harry and Meghan did not return to the UK, but these new claims might help clarify why Charles and Harry have been on such poor terms for so many years.
Meghan has appeared to want nothing to do with the royal family since Charles took the throne (she did have a good relationship with Queen Elizabeth and attended her funeral) the duchess never attended Charles’ coronation and has not been back to the UK since the queen’s death. These new claims about Charles stripping the couple of money might hold the key to understanding why there is so much animosity between the Sussexes and the rest of the royal family. It might also provide an understanding as to why Harry and William have not been able to repair their relationship.
Showbiz Cheat Sheet could not independently verify the claims made by the newspapers, so it’s important to note that the validity of the source’s claims remains unknown.
