Meghan Markle's parting words to journalist Omid Scobie have resurfaced. The royal correspondent wrote in his biography Finding Freedom that the pair shared an emotional moment after the Duchess of Sussex's final royal assignment.
Meghan and Scobie spoke after an event for the Association of Commonwealth Scholars.
“It didn’t have to be this way,” Meghan told Scobie.
“The tears that the duchess had been bravely holding back [were] free to flow among familiar faces,” Scobie wrote. “The Duchess of Sussex emotionally [bid] much-loved aides farewell, with her flight ‘home’ to Canada leaving in a matter of hours.”
The commentator later revealed that Meghan and Prince Harry were heartbroken by their inability to become part-time royals.
“Meghan would fly back to Canada on the last commercial flight of the day, eager to be back in Vancouver Island by the morning before [her son] Archie wakes up,” he added. "To say [Harry and Markle] were crushed is an understatement. It’s a decision that the couple still feel wasn’t necessary, but also wasn’t a surprise, given the lack of support they received."
In January 2020, Meghan and Harry announced that they would be taking a step back from their royal duties with the hopes of advocating for the commonwealth, but Queen Elizabeth decided that they would no longer work for the monarchy.
"After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution,” the Duke and Duchess said in the statement. “We intend to step back as roles as 'senior' members of the royal family, and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen."
Despite the Sussexes' public plans, their hopes were shut down by Queen Elizabeth, who demanded an all-or-nothing approach to royal life and service.
"We never left the family and we only wanted to have the same type of role that exists, right? There [are] senior members of the family and then there are non-senior members," Meghan told Oprah Winfrey during their 2021 tell-all interview.
"And we said, specifically, ‘We’re stepping back from senior roles to be just like several . . .’ I mean, I can think of so many right now who are all . . . they’re royal highnesses, prince or princess, duke or duchess . . . who earn a living, live on palace grounds, can support the Queen if and when called upon," Meghan added.
At the time, the parents hoped to raise Archie with a multicultural upbringing that exposed him to life in the Americas and behind palace gates.
“This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity,” the statement read.
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Meghan and Harry aspired to have lives that compared to Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice because the sisters maintain the privileges of having HRH status, but they work normal jobs and live semi-private lives.
"So we weren’t reinventing the wheel here. We were saying, ‘OK, if this isn’t working for everyone, we’re in a lot of pain, you can’t provide us with the help we need, we can just take a step back," the Suits star passionately said. "We can do it in a Commonwealth country’. We suggested New Zealand, South Africa."
