Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Will Never Get the Privacy They Desire, Expert Claims
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex left their royal lives behind for the opportunity to live a more peaceful life out of the royal spotlight, but will they ever really get to have the privacy they had hoped for? While the media scrutiny has cooled since they made their way to Los Angeles, one expert believes that it’s unlikely that the Sussexes will live a totally private life.
Prince Harry and Meghan exited the royal family in March
After making an announcement in January about their plan to step back from royal duties, Queen Elizabeth worked with them to make final arrangements, with their official last day set for March 31.
Following the queen’s statement supporting the Sussexes’ exit plan, Prince Harry spoke at a dinner for supporters of Sentebale in London and explained the reason he and Meghan felt they had to make this drastic decision.
“The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly,” he stated at the time. “It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges. And I know I haven’t always gotten it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option.”
Can they have the privacy they hoped for?
The criticisms from the media and public took its toll on the couple and their hope for a more peaceful existence has been fulfilled to some extent, but will they ever truly have the privacy they desire? Given that they are former royals and the public still has an interest in Harry and Meghan, it’s unlikely that they can avoid the spotlight altogether.
Former royal protection officer Simon Morgan spoke with the Royally Us podcast and shared his views on what the couple can expect moving forward. When asked if he believes they will have the level of privacy they want, Morgan shared, “Sadly no, and I think a lot of it will depend on how they actually engage with people in terms of the ordinary person in the street and the media and how much access they allow with that.”
He continued, “The more you withdraw, the more people want to know what you’re up to. There just becomes that fascination.”
There will always be an interest in Harry and Meghan
Morgan further shared how the protection team surrounding “people of wealth, visibility, and status” have to give them the ability “to live their normal lives or the life that they choose.”
He continued, “It would be very easy just to say, ‘Don’t ever go out, don’t ever speak to anyone and we will put you behind the wire and we will protect you.’ That’s not how people wish to live, so the work is always, I think, on the protection team.”
While Prince Harry and Meghan are likely to have more privacy than they had when they were in the royal family, Morgan thinks that people will continue to be interested in the couple. “Sadly, I think there will always kind of be an interest in the Sussexes and that interest may peak and trough as time goes on but I think the more that they are not in the public eye, the more people will want to know what they are up to and that creates its own monster within itself,” Morgan noted.
