MEGHAN Markle can “finally breathe” after escaping a “soul crushing” and “toxic” life as a royal, a close pal has claimed.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex got their way at the Royal Family’s crisis summit — but the Queen made it plain she is deeply upset they are quitting.
After the Sandringham talks, Her Majesty released a statement saying the couple will be allowed to step down from their duties and spend time in Canada.
And a pal told The Mail the former actress, 38, feels she can now have free rein over her life after the bombshell decision.
The friend revealed Meghan found life as a Royal “soul crushing” and was desperate to remove son Archie from the “toxic environment”.
She said: “She told her inner circle of friends that her soul was being crushed and that the decision to leave was a matter of life or death – meaning the death of her spirit.
“She also felt like she couldn’t be the best mother to Archie if she wasn’t being her true, authentic self.
“Something she felt she couldn’t be in the royal family confines. She said she didn’t want Archie picking up on her stress and anxiety.
“She felt like it was a toxic environment for him because there was too much tension and pent-up frustrations.”
The couple will now go through a “period of transition” that will see them “create a new life as a young family” and spend time in both Canada and the UK.
The Queen said she was “entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family”.
But it’s widely know that Her Majesty has been left devastated by her grandson and his wife’s decision to step away.
The Duchess of Sussex is also currently embroiled in a legal battle with a national newspaper.
She is suing the Mail on Sunday for damages after it published a leaked letter she wrote to Thomas three months after her May 2018 wedding.
Meghan claims it was misuse of her private information and breach of copyright but documents filed by the paper argued she was behind a smear campaign against her estranged father, who currently lives in Mexico.
The defence papers filed at the High Court state the newspaper will seek disclosure from Meghan of her exchanges with her friend Jessica Mulroney.
Now that the Queen has agreed to allow her and Harry to split their time between the UK and North America, the friend said Meghan “has a lot up her sleeve that she wants to do.”
The added: “Meghan will continue making surprise visits to different places that help women and children.
“She wants to feel embraced by her community, something she says she didn’t feel in the UK. She felt stifled and restricted.”
The crunch royal summit, which took almost four hours, took place between the Queen, Prince Charles, and brothers William and Harry.
The fine detail of the agreement — especially the controversial issue of who will fund the couple’s new life — will be thrashed out over the next few days.
The Queen said: “Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life.”
But following the news, Canada’s biggest newspaper has voiced it’s opposition to Harry and Meghan moving to Canada.
The Globe and Mail said any move by the couple would violate laws that keep the once-British-ruled country at arm’s length from the UK.
The paper said: “You are welcome to visit, but so long as you are senior royals, Canada cannot allow you to come to stay. It breaks an unspoken constitutional taboo.”
