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It seems shocking to many royal fans that Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex have traded their royal titles for a quieter life in North America. However, they certainly aren’t the first members of the British royal family to struggle with their roles.

Back in the 1930s, Queen Elizabeth‘s uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated the throne when he was not allowed to marry American divorcee Wallis Sampson. Likewise, Princess Beatrice spent a great deal of time in the United States working in New York City.

Moreover, many royal family followers might be surprised to learn that Prince William reportedly once considered living in the U.S. after college.

Prince William didn’t always want to be king

Although he’s focused on the well-being of the British royal family now, Prince William didn’t always want to be king. He was told about his destiny at a very young age, which made him extremely apprehensive about the entire thing.

“We talked about our children, and [Princess Diana] said William often told her that he didn’t really want to be king, and then Harry would say, ‘If you don’t want the job I’ll have it,'” journalist Jeremy Paxman recalled.

In fact, Prince Harry once said being the monarch was a job no one really wants. “We are involved in modernizing the British monarchy. We are not doing this for ourselves but for the greater good of the people,” the Duke of Sussex told Newsweek. “Is there anyone of the royal family who wants to be king or queen? I don’t think so, but we will carry out our duties at the right time.”

Prince William was once enamored with an American heiress

During his time at St. Andrews University, Prince William struck up a friendship with heiress Anna Sloan. The pair bonded over the death of their parents. The prince was still reeling from Princess Diana’s death in 1997, and Sloan was dealing with her own personal tragedy. Her father, businessman George Sloan, had died in 2001 in a shooting accident at the family estate in Nashville.

In her book William and Harry, royal biographer Katie Nicholl wrote, “When Anna invited William and a group of friends to Texas for a holiday before he went to Greece, it hurt Kate deeply. She suspected William might have feelings for the 22-year-old heiress.”

However, nothing ever turned romantic between the two, and the prince got more serious with Kate Middleton.

Prince William wanted to move to the US after college

Prince Harry isn’t the only royal brother who wanted more privacy in his life. In 2003, The Scotsman reported that Prince William was considering moving across the Atlantic once he finished university.

“Having enjoyed a degree of privacy as a student at St Andrews, perhaps it’s not such a surprise that William has announced his intention to spend a few years living in the US after he finishes his degree,” reporter Louisa Pearson explained at the time. “Work in a gallery or auction house, and the possibility of a postgraduate degree, have apparently been discussed.”

However, the move never panned out for William, and he instead began to take on more royal responsibilities.

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