Like the proverbial ripple in the pond, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s infamous “Megxit” from the royal family had farther-reaching effects than even they likely realized at the time.
The couple probably expected some hard feelings from King Charles III and other senior family members, but the Duke and Duchess of Sussex may not have taken their children’s lives and futures into consideration when they backed out of royal life.
For instance, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet haven’t traveled to the U.K. since Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, so the king hasn’t had much opportunity to bond with his grandchildren.
Harry is set on getting government-level security for his family for any future visits, but even if he does, they have nowhere to stay.
The Sussexes were evicted from Frogmore Cottage by Harry’s father, leaving them without a royal residence (a move which left the prince in tears, according to The Mirror). Meghan’s father, meanwhile, thinks about this quite a bit.
Similarly estranged from the royal defectors since their 2018 wedding, Thomas Markle has frequently expressed his regret over what the family feuds mean for the next generation.
In a June 2024 interview with the Daily Mail, Markle pointed out that he has never met Archie or Lilibet and marveled at being in the same position as a literal king.
“I would love to speak to [Charles] because I am sure he has as many unanswered questions as I do,” he said. “Neither of us deserves the treatment we’ve received.”
Thomas Markle made a desperate plea to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry ahead of his 80th birthday: a request for a pic of his grandchildren.
Ironically, photographs are what led to his fight with the Sussexes thanks to Markle infamously posing for paparazzi shots ahead of their wedding.
He has claimed he did it to salvage his reputation after Meghan and Harry cut off contact, but it was a huge breach of royal etiquette.
Meghan later told Oprah in the infamous interview that her father deliberately lied to her about working with the tabloids.
“I genuinely can’t imagine doing anything to intentionally cause pain to my child. I can’t imagine it,” she said (via People). “So it’s hard for me to reconcile that.”
Markle has since apologized for staging the pictures but claims his grandchildren are being punished more harshly than he is.
He recalled watching the 2024 Trooping the Colour ceremony, when King Charles III and Kate Middleton appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony despite their ongoing health troubles.
“I feel sad that Archie and Lilibet don’t have the chance to take part in things like Trooping the Colour, which is their birthright,” he told the Daily Mail.
By maintaining both a physical and emotional distance from his brother, Prince Harry has also cut off his two children from their closest family members: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
Thomas Markle informed the Daily Mail, “It struck me as very sad that Meghan and Harry’s kids are being denied the right to know their cousins, who look like fantastic children.
The relationship between cousins is a special one. There’s a unique bond.” It’s one Harry himself knows well.
For years, the prince shared a deep friendship with his cousin Princess Eugenie, but this, too, may be cooling off. Reportedly, Eugenie is separating herself from Harry and Meghan as she shows more support for King Charles in his time of need.
A source also dished to The Express that Eugenie and her sister, Princess Beatrice, may be taking a cue from their mother.
Sarah Ferguson has been distancing herself from the Sussexes of late, denying she ever got to know Meghan prior to the wedding.
As Thomas suggested, Archie and Lilibet may one day ask why they never see their Uncle William’s family. Perhaps then their dad will make the first move to bring the cousins back together.
Or perhaps the young princes and princesses will decide to connect on their own, despite their fathers’ hard feelings. It may be that this next generation is the hope for a royal reconciliation.
