Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have had a ‘painful’ year since Megxit, Finding Freedom authors claim

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have had a ‘painful’ year since Megxit after the couple’s nanny moved back to the UK and the pandemic left them feeling ‘alone,’ the authors of Finding Freedom have claimed.  

Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie, who co-wrote the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s bombshell biography, alleged that moving to LA brought difficult changes for the couple who stepped back as senior royals in March last year. 

‘To be at the point they are at now, having set up an empire and a charity in just over nine months, shows just how hard they have worked to make this transition a success,’ said Omid Scobie, writing in Grazia. ‘But it’s taken a lot of work to get here. The journey has been painful.’  

The authors went on to say the move has also been challenging for Meghan, 39, who has juggled motherhood with moving house four times. 

The couple left their newly-renovated house Frogmore Cottage last year to live in Vancouver for six months, before living in Tyler Perry’s Hollywood Hills house and then finally to their current nine-bedroom family mansion in Montecito. 

A friend of the duchess told the authors: ‘It’s just been a lot. Their nanny moved back to the UK when they moved to LA because of the pandemic and restrictions left them feeling quite alone. Each move made them feel more displaced.’ 

Omid Scobie added that since making the move to LA the couple have been ‘eager to contribute to the community,’ particularly in regards to the Covid-19 response, and are keen to put the ‘focus back on what mattered instead of tabloid headlines’. 

It comes after it was reported that Prince Harry was refused permission for a wreath to be laid at the Cenotaph for Remembrance Sunday on his behalf, in another possible sign of a family rift. 

The Duke of Sussex, who spent ten years in the armed forces, made the personal request to Buckingham Palace, but was refused due to the fact he had left royal duties in March, The Times reported last November. 

The Queen was not thought to have been informed of the request or its refusal, which is said to have ‘deeply saddened’ the Duke of Sussex, the publication reported. 

Buckingham Palace declined to comment on whether Prince Harry’s request had been refused.  

Last month it was reported that the couple want a 12-month extension to the Megxit deal that would see them keep their royal patronages and head back to the UK to seal the deal in person.  

However, sources told Omid that the couple have no such plans, adding: ‘They really haven’t looked back’.  

Prince Harry hammered out a deal with his family at a Sandringham summit in January last year after he and Meghan said they wished to earn their own money.  

They left at the end of March and moved to California where they have since bought a £11 million mansion and launched their good causes organisation, Archewell.  

In the wake of the royal departure, some people also claimed the couple should be replaced as the president and vice-president of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust but, in response, the organisation said they are ‘as committed as ever’. 

Harry was also said to have fallen out with his brother William, with the pair allegedly not speaking for months after the deal was agreed.  

But in recent months relations between the couple and the rest of the royal family are said to have thawed, with Harry and Meghan sending presents to Prince William and his family. 

Grazia magazine, on sale now.