It’s taken a couple of years, but Prince Harryand Meghan Markle finally have reason to feel smug about their decision to quit royal life. Last week, scandalous reports hit the headlines in the UK, claiming Prince Charles accepted cash in carrier bags from a billionaire Qatari sheikh. And insiders tell heat it’s left the ex-royals relieved to be living 3,500 miles away and hoping this might finally signal an end to the non-stop negativity they’ve dealt with in recent years.
“It’s never been more of a relief to be away from the royal spotlight,” says heat’s source close to Harry, 37, and Meghan, 40, who formally resigned as working royals back in 2020, moving to LA to launch media careers. “Of course, Meghan and Harry are following the feeding frenzy over ‘dirty cash’ and are relieved that they’re not in the firing line for a change. Watching this whole tawdry mess unravel in the news only strengthens their belief that the Firm has serious problems. Meghan, in particular, is so happy to be back in LA and away from all that toxicity. They’ve been proven right in starting their own life in California when they did.”
There was shock last week when financial records of our future king were revealed, showing that Charles, 73, had accepted donations for his charity totalling £2.5million from Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim, the former Prime Minister of Qatar – a country criticised for its poor record on human rights.
Bizarrely, the politician handed over the money in a suitcase of cash and Fortnum and Mason carrier bags. Though it was apparently all above board, further questions were later raised over a donation that came from the makers of the James Bond films, which was passed to a charitable fund for former intelligence service staff. The family faced yet more controversy later in the week, when it was revealed how Charles had used royal powers to “compel government ministers to… benefit his landed estate.”
Our insider continues, “It’s one thing after another for the royals right now, and it’s all big news in America. It’s being covered on every major news network. It’s surreal for Harry to be living in a foreign county watching these events unfold, seeing his own father right at the centre of something so shocking and scandalous. He believes his dad is a good man who will clear his name and get through this. Their relationship with him is hardly cosy but it’s cordial at least. He’s way more welcoming and friendly than William and Kate, who have made it clear that there’s no path back or willingness to sit down and talk things through.”
Things have been frosty, to say the least, between the Duke of Sussex and the rest of his family in recent years – a fact we all saw up close at the Queen’s recent Platinum Jubilee. It followed Harry and the former Suits actress – who married in 2018, becoming parents to Archie, three, and Lillibet, one – giving a tell-all interview to Oprah in March 2021, which was widely slammed by royal fans. The Sussexes were last week seen driving to Oprah's mansion, prompting rumours of a second interview, and a YouGov poll in the US showed Meghan’s popularity is currently at an all-time low.
We’re told, “They’ve been front and centre of so many negative reports these past few years – it’s been very difficult for them to live with. Neither Harry nor Meghan take pleasure in seeing the monarchy in this type of trouble but they’re so grateful focus has finally shifted away from them. They’re hoping the dust is starting to settle around them and critics are going to pick on someone else for a while.
"It feels like validation at long last that they’re better off away from the royal family.”
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