Duchess Meghan opens up on 'bittersweet' UK departure: 'None of it had to be this way'

Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY

August 30, 2022 at 3:22 AM·4 min read

Duchess Meghan is opening up about her and Prince Harry's "bittersweet" departure as senior members of the British royal family and the criticism that followed.

Meghan, 41, and Harry, 37, announced in January 2020 that they would "step back" from their roles. Months later, the couple moved to Santa Barbara, Calif. where they are raising their children Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1.

They later opened up in a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey that the U.K. tabloid culture and the way royal protocols dictated their every move worsened their mental health and caused them to make the decision to leave it all behind. Meghan continues to get the blame for their exit, which was dubbed by tabloids as "Megxit," with additional allegations that she bullied staffers.

“It was bittersweet, you know? Knowing none of it had to be this way,” the Duchess of Sussex told The Cut of the fallout in an interview published Monday.

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Meghan noted that being a senior member of the royal family was becoming increasingly difficult as she found herself viewing it as an acting gig. "I was an actress," she said. “My entire job was ‘Tell me where to stand. Tell me what to say. Tell me how to say it. Tell me what to wear, and I’ll do it.'"

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Meghan was once very public with her life on social media and even managed the lifestyle blog The Tig. But as senior royals, she and Harry were only permitted to be on social media through the @KensingtonRoyal account shared with Prince William and Duchess Kate as well as the @SussexRoyal account, both managed by a PR team.

"It was a big adjustment — a huge adjustment to go from that kind of autonomy to a different life," Meghan told The Cut.

As senior royals, some photos of their family were exclusively shared through the U.K. media pool and often times they didn't have control over the images they wanted to share on Instagram.

Referring to the press, Meghan said, "Why would I give the very people that are calling my children the N-word a photo of my child before I can share it with the people that love my child?"

Meghan revealed she's "getting back on Instagram" but didn't spill details on when or what her handle would be.

Meghan added that she hopes to share more candid moments of her life, especially with the launch of the "Archetypes" podcast. The first episode, with guest Serena Williams, is live on Spotify. "Archetypes" episodes are expected to be released weekly on Tuesdays.

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In the vein of being candid, she teased, but would not confirm the rumored docuseries about the love story between herself and Harry for Netflix.

"The piece of my life I haven’t been able to share, that people haven’t been able to see, is our love story" she said. “I hope that is the sentiment that people feel when they see any of the content or the projects that we are working on. … When the media has shaped the story around you, it’s really nice to be able to tell your own story."

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Meghan's battle with the press began long before she successfully sued Mail for invading her privacy when it published parts of a letter she wrote to her estranged father Thomas.

The Duchess explained that she and Harry concluded that if they stepped down from being taxpayer-funded royals "maybe all the noise would stop."

She also stressed to The Cut the couple was willing to move to any commonwealth country. "Just by existing, we were upsetting the dynamic of the hierarchy. So we go, 'Okay, fine, let’s get out of here. Happy to,' " Meghan recalled.

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"That, for whatever reason, is not something that we were allowed to do, even though several other members of the family do that exact thing," she continued, citing other royals who have worked independently.

Harry's relationship with his father, Prince Charles, also suffered during their royal exit.

"Harry said to me, ‘I lost my dad in this process.’ It doesn’t have to be the same for them as it was for me, but that’s his decision," Meghan shared.