Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s ‘Final Straw’ Was Not Getting What Prince William and Kate Middleton Have, Documentary Says
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex shared their reasons for stepping back as senior working royals during a March 2021 tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey. The couple cited the media and not feeling supported by the British royal family. Now a newly released documentary claims the “final straw” for Harry and Meghan was not getting their own office like Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle initially shared an office with Prince William and Kate Middleton
For nearly a year after Meghan and Harry’s royal wedding — approximately 10 months — they operated out of the same royal household as William and Catherine. What does that mean exactly? Harry, Meghan, William, and Catherine all shared the same office and many of the same staff members.
Prior to Harry marrying Meghan and William marrying Catherine, the two brothers shared the same office. When Catherine officially became part of the royal family in 2011 she joined William and Harry’s office. When Meghan came along, the royal family did the same thing. She simply became the fourth royal to join that particular office.
The “Fab Four,” as they were dubbed by the press, attended royal engagements together and even championed causes together. Photos and videos of Harry and Meghan appeared on what is now William and Catherine’s official Instagram (@dukeandduchessofcambridge) as well as their social media platforms.
The ‘final straw’ for the Sussexes was being denied their own office, documentary says
There eventually came a time when Harry and Meghan wanted their own office. Per Newsweek, former royal correspondent Camilla Tominey described Harry and Meghan being denied their own office in the ITV documentary Harry and William: What Went Wrong? as the “last straw” for them.
Tominey, the associate editor of The Daily Telegraph, explained that Meghan and Harry’s request was denied by Harry’s father, Prince Charles, and grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
“At that point, Harry and Meghan want their own office like the Cambridges have,” Tominey said. “They wanted their own office to run out of Windsor, out of Frogmore Cottage, where they were living at the time.”
“And it’s at that point,” she added, “the Queen and Prince Charles then sweep in and say ‘no, we will manage your affairs’ and in a way that’s the final straw because once again the Sussexes are saying ‘why can’t we have what the Cambridges are having? We should be on an equal footing.'”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle eventually got their own royal household
Things changed in March 2019. The royal family issued an official announcement saying the Kensington Palace office would be split. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex would have their own private office at Buckingham Palace as opposed to Frogmore Cottage.
By April 2019, they were taking more steps to establish their own office. Most notably, they joined Instagram, launching their @sussexroyal account on April 2, 2019. Meghan and Harry’s Instagram broke a record when they hit one million followers in less than six hours.
Now, of course, Meghan and Harry no longer have an office because they stepped back from their official royal duties in 2020. They now reside in California with their two children, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor and Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.
