Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s final
The final Prince Harry and Meghan Markle royal tour in 2019 may have been the beginning of the end.
Prince Harry, 40, and Meghan Markle, 43, stepped down from their royal duties in early 2020. For the last five years they have been living in the US, raising their two children; Archie, six, and Lilibet, three.
But the reported feud between the pair and the rest of the royal family seems to be ever-growing. And it looks like a 10-day royal tour that Harry and Meghan went on in late 2019 turned into a “personal” attack.
Meghan and Harry embarked on a royal tour to Africa in late 2019 (Credit: Photo by DOMINIC LIPINSKI/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
What was Harry and Meghan’s final royal tour?
On their final royal tour in 2019, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visited South Africa. During the tour, their son Archie – who was five months old – made an appearance, much to the joy of fans.
But while it initially seemed to be going smoothly, on the final day Meghan announced her privacy lawsuit against The Mail on Sunday. She sued the publication over a claim it unlawfully published one of her private letters to her estranged father.
Harry had also hit out at the press during the tour.
A year after the royal tour, it was reported by Sky News that it actually cost the British taxpayer nearly £246,000 ($332k). It was claimed this was the most expensive royal trip of the year.
But while it had the opportunity to be a “historic success”, it seems it actually went the opposite direction.
Little Archie made an appearance during the tour (Credit: Photo by HENK KRUGER/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
As well as the lawsuit, the couple also recorded an ITV documentary – Harry and Meghan: An African Journey. It saw Meghan reveal she was struggling to cope amid press scrutiny.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams criticised Harry and Meghan’s actions during the tour, blasting it as an “extraordinary own goal”.
Richard previously told MailOnline: “Harry and Meghan’s trip to South and Southern Africa had all the hallmarks of being a historic success until Meghan launched a privacy lawsuit against the Mail on Sunday on its last day.
“The Sussexes were representing the Queen in a Commonwealth country. This was no way to conduct matters, placing self over duty so publicly and it was also totally unprecedented.”
He went on to explain by using the trip “climatically for personal reasons” it meant it couldn’t be remembered for what it was meant to be.
Richard added: “It was an extraordinary own goal.”
The couple sparked backlash during the tour (Credit: Photo by Shutterstock)
What was the reaction to the tour?
He wasn’t the only one who felt that the lawsuit ruined Harry and Meghan’s royal tour. Royal commentator Phil Dampier also believed that the timing of the couples interview “ruined” the tour.
Phil also spoke to MailOnline in 2020. He said: “These trips are all asked for and planned by the Foreign Office where they want them to show support and good will. I think it would have been money well spent had they not ruined it by attacking the press at the end. It took away from any of the good will and the good causes they were trying to promote.
“I feel the money was squandered because of that bad publicity.”
Meghan opened up about her struggles in an interview during the tour (Credit: ITV)
Meghan Markle’s interview with ITV before quitting royal duties
During the ITV documentary, which aired on October 23 in 2019, Meghan told Tom Bradby: “Any woman, especially when they’re pregnant, you’re really vulnerable. So that was made really challenging and then when you have a newborn… especially as a woman, it’s really, it’s a lot.
“So you add this on top of just trying to be a new mum or trying to be a newlywed.”
She added: ” Also thank you for asking because not many people have asked if I’m ok. But it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.”
Just months after the South Africa tour, Harry and Meghan announced they were stepping back from senior royal duties.
In their tell-all 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan opened up about having suicidal thoughts during her time within the monarchy.
The couple now live in California, but remain estranged from the royal family.
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