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When Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry got engaged in November 2017, the royal couple, as well as the British press and public, seemed optimistic about what the pair would bring to the British royal family. Their union was admired, and people were excited about seeing a mixed-race American woman joining The Firm.

Unfortunately, things didn’t pan out as expected. From the moment the Sussexes tied the knot, Meghan was criticized, bullied, and harassed so much so that she and Prince Harry made the decision to step away from their positions as senior working royals.

Now, one royal expert suggests that based on the Duchess of Sussex’s body-language when she interacted with Queen Elizabeth, we should have all seen Megxit coming.

Megxit was a difficult choice for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

In October 2019, the Sussexes first hinted at their deep unhappiness in their royal roles and amid the pressure and scrutiny of the press. During their royal tour in South Africa, they filmed an ITV documentary Harry and Meghan: An African Journey where they talked about their difficulties.

After announcing Megxit, the Duke of Sussex spoke openly about his decision. “The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly,” he said during a speech at a dinner for his charity, Sentebale. “It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges. And I know I haven’t always got it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option.”

In a leaked phone call, Prince Harry went into more detail about Megxit. “That’s probably a conversation for another time, there’s lots of layers to it and lots of pieces to the puzzle,” the prince reportedly said. “But sometimes the right decision isn’t always the easy one. And this decision certainly wasn’t the easy one but it was the right decision for our family, the right decision to be able to protect my son.”

Queen Elizabeth may have been able to stop Megxit

After witnessing Princess Margaret and Princess Diana struggle in the royal family, the queen has always been sensitive and supportive to the Sussexes’ plight but one royal expert feels she did not do enough to help.

“If the queen had once said, in her way, ‘Hey, guys, this is my grandson and his wife,” journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown told Vanity Fair. “They just got married. Back off and let them build a life for themselves,’ the hounds would have backed off. But she never did. And she still hasn’t. I find that unforgivable, actually, since she has the power. They absolutely worship her in this country.”

Meghan Markle and Queen Elizabeth’s body-language may have hinted at Megxit

Things had been tough for Meghan long before Meghan was announced.”Now that the Sussexes’ uncoupling from the royal firm appears almost complete it is possible to look back and track what appeared to be four degrees of separation opening between the couple and the rest of the royals,” body language expert Judi James told Express. “As the rifts began to show, and as Meghan and Harry were clearly planning their exit behind the scenes, they did seem to drift away physically as well as emotionally. Meghan was fast-tracked into the royal firm. She did the traditional ‘induction’ trip and appearance with the Queen much sooner than Kate did. This suggested some trust in Meghan’s confidence as a new royal and some instant bonds between her and the Queen.”

However, things began to shift quickly. “Meghan was now such a big star in the royal firm that it looked odd to see her at the back of the line-up, in front of Harry and slightly isolated-looking,” James explained. “There were clearly pecking-orders at play here but the space between Meghan and the front row royals plus the Queen did look large. As the other A-list royals clustered around the Queen here Meghan and Harry looked distant, with Meghan again walking alone, looking in at the group in front from the side and from what looked like a large spatial gap. She was not in the line with the other royal wives and now we have been officially told of the rift between Harry and William it’s probably easier to imagine the tensions that surrounded group appearances like this.”

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