A year has passed since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle, announced their intention to take a "step back" from royal functions and "be financially independent." This unilateral decision, baptized as Megxit, fell like a bucket of cold water at Buckingham Palace, especially for Queen Elizabeth II, who finally respected the decision of her grandson.
In the statement issued through social networks, the prince and his wife expressed their desire to start a new life in the United States, without breaking family ties and showing their full support for the Queen and her country. Undoubtedly, the media harassment they have suffered in recent months as 'royalties' led to the departure of the British Royal Family.
After the historic announcement on January 8, 2020, and finalizing the transition to their new status within the monarchy with the Royal Family, the Dukes of Sussex faced their last official acts as Royal Highnesses. In February, the Prince collaborated with singer Jon Bon Jovi and the 'Invictus Games Choir' to record the song "Unbroken".
A frantic final stretch in which the actress was crowned as a royal influencer for her outfits, full of color and glamour. In March, Meghan dazzled at various events including the Endeavor Award Ceremony (March 5), the Mountbatten Music Festival at the Royal Albert Hall (March 7), and a Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey (March 9). March), which put an end to his official agenda
On March 31, the Megxit became effective. By then, the Sussexes and little Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor had already temporarily moved to Canada. A few weeks later, and before the borders were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the dukes settled permanently in California (United States), where the actress was born.
First, they settled in a palace located in an exclusive and private development in the hills of Beverly Hills and valued at 18 million dollars. The mansion was owned by actor and director Tyler Perry, a friend of the couple, and has 90,000 square meters of land. There they were able to celebrate little Archie's first birthday (May 6) away from the paparazzi targets.
In June, on the occasion of the graduation of the students of her old school in Los Angeles, Meghan Markle launched a powerful message against racism: "The only mistake is to say nothing. Black lives matter." Both she and Harry mourned the death of George Floyd and joined the 'Black lives matter' movement that sparked riots in the streets of the US against police and racial violence.
In August a new earthquake hit Buckingham Palace with the publication of the unauthorized biography of Harry and Meghan. Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family, written by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, reveal details of the couple and disagreements with the royal family through sources very close to the Dukes of Sussex. The book paints a very different picture of Markle and talks about racism, rudeness, and who really made the Megxit decision.
After a few months and already settled into their new life, the couple decides to go one step further by acquiring a luxurious house in the Santa Barbara region (California). The house has nine bedrooms, 16 bathrooms, a swimming pool, a cinema room, a huge garden, and even a guest house. A privileged place where Harry and Meghan have found the tranquility and privacy they longed for and from where they continue to develop social activities.
As they pointed out in their statement just a year ago, the Dukes have founded Archewell, a charity to help the most disadvantaged. They have already launched their first project, which will be the creation of humanitarian aid centers around the world in collaboration with the Spanish chef José Andrés and his NGO World Central Kitchen. Archewell also prepares new projects for Netflix and Spotify to inform, educate and inspire the new generations.
Days after our last image of them during their visit to the Los Angeles National Cemetery on Memorial Sunday (November 8), Meghan Markle revealed that she suffered a miscarriage through a heartbreaking letter published in The New York Times. The Duchess claimed she was expecting her second child, but one morning in July she "felt a strong cramp" and learned that she was having an abortion.
I flopped to the ground with him in my arms, humming a lullaby to keep us both calm, the upbeat tune contrasting with my feeling that something wasn't right.
"Losing a child means being saddled with almost unbearable pain, experienced by many but spoken of by few. In the pain of our loss, my husband and I discovered that in a hospital ward of 100 women, 10 to 20 would have suffered a miscarriage. Yet despite the uncanny similarity of this grief, the conversation remains taboo, rife with (unwarranted) shame, and perpetuating a cycle of lonely mourning," Markle wrote.
