Some of the people most scrutinized by the public include the members of the British royal family. In 2020, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, made a historic decision when he and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, decided to resign from their duties as ‘senior’ royals.
No one knows the effects of paparazzi and the press better than Prince Harry and his brother Prince William, as memories of their mother’s (Princess Diana) hounding from photographers is cemented in their minds.
The announcement was made via the couple’s Instagram page on January 8. It read, “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 couple said they intended to “become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.”
One way of becoming “financially independent,” involves a $100 million deal with Netflix.
Their plans included splitting their time between the UK and the US. Currently, the couple lives in a mansion in Montecito, California with their two young children.
A statement from Queen Elizabeth II came out on January 13. “My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family,” it said. Furthermore, the Queen said that the royal family respected and understood the young couple’s “wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of [the Queen’s] family.”
In 2017, Royal expert Duncan Larcombe’s biography, “Prince Harry: The Inside Story” was published. It documented the prince’s life during his stay at the Eton elite boarding school, his military service and his love life.
“Children dream of one day being a prince,” Larcombe told Fox News Digital. “Harry, his whole life, has dreamed of one day being normal.”
This sentiment was expressed by Prince Harry himself when in 2021, he candidly spoke about struggling with media scrutiny that came with being a royal.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey for the Apple TV+ documentary series “The Me You Can’t See,” he admitted, “I always wanted to be normal, as opposed to being Prince Harry, just being Harry.”
In addition, he told Oprah that the happiest times of his life occurred during his 10 years in the army. It was because he “got to wear the same uniform as everybody else. I had to do all the same training as everybody else. I started from the bottom like everybody else.”
Is the prince able to realize this dream of being normal amid his decision to step away from the spotlight?
Larcombe said he does not think so, and claimed others share his belief. “Harry looks desperately unhappy,” he said.
Larcombe said Prince Harry still has what he already had. If the prince wanted to reach out to famous personalities like Steven Spielberg and Barack Obama, it would be attainable for him, like it has been since Harry was 18-years-old. “So, there’s no novelty for him being top of the tree in Los Angeles.”
“So, what we’re seeing unfold in front of our eyes is a prince who, frankly, seems to have sacrificed absolutely everything and gained very, very little in return,” he noted.
Larcombe further commented that Prince Harry and his brother William, the Prince of Wales, would have to make difficult choices if they were to repair the rift that he said occurred in the brothers’ relationship. He said the two were formerly close, and that “Deep down there is hope that they’ll make up for it.”
Of course, there is some comfort in living on different continents, as some who endure family Thanksgiving dinners might tell you.
