FIVE years ago today, The Sun revealed to the world that Prince Harry and his wife Meghan were “stepping back” from royal life and moving to Canada.
Next day, the couple confirmed our story. They issued a statement saying: “We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to the Queen, the Commonwealth and our patronages.”
Megxit, as we called it, sent shockwaves through The Firm and caused no end of trouble for the royals who remained.
At the time, commentators even questioned whether the Royal Family could survive if Harry and Meghan, the two most modern and forward-looking members, had decided to call it a day.
But, remarkably, five years on, I believe the Royal Family is stronger now than when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex quit.
The people have great affinity with the new King and with Kate and William as well as Queen Camilla.
I have seen the evidence of this remarkable transformation when I travelled with Charles to places such as Bolton and Milton Keynes, where crowds that were once in the hundreds are now in the thousands.
When I went to Australia to cover the King and Queen’s visit last October, I witnessed the Royal Family’s bounce-back from the events of the past five years.
Huge crowds greeted the royal couple in Sydney and Canberra.
Many of those people had got there at five in the morning after travelling up to 300 miles to see Charles and Camilla.
That’s how much the modern Royal Family are loved in a country that has for decades loosely flirted with becoming a Republic.
And on Christmas Day at Sandringham, Catherine was sparkling, full of life, smiling as the weight of her illness has come off her shoulders.
The front page picture I took of her that day is now the screensaver on my computer.
I look at it and remember how the crowd just went crazy.
Kate was still talking to the people, receiving gifts and flowers and get-well cards, while the rest of the family were back in the house.
How different to five years ago when Harry and Meghan made their bombshell statement confirming they were quitting as senior royals — leaving the Queen “deeply upset”, with Charles and William “incandescent with rage”.
Many predicted the departure of these thoroughly modern royals would sound the death knell for the family.
Republicans rubbed their hands with glee and sat back with popcorn as the duo tore into the Firm. As one senior courtier put it: “This is a declaration of war on the family.”
Little did we know then how brutal that war would be.
After moving from Canada to California, Harry and Meghan certainly put the future of the Royal Family under real threat with what came next.
Their infamous Oprah Winfrey interview was a global sensation and was followed by their scornful Netflix series.
Then came Harry’s book, Spare, in which he let rip about the Royal Family and took aim at William and Catherine as well as Camilla.
I hated that book so much because, in my view, it abused all the privileges of belonging to a family — the most important thing in the world.
Even when the paperback came out, Harry didn’t make any alterations. He just let it go.
I always felt Harry had a great future with the Royal Family but he didn’t and clearly thought that as the “spare” he was going to be sidelined.
And when Meghan came along, he was totally in love and would do anything for her.
In that first year after they got married, I thought she was sensational.
Then, suddenly — as we revealed five years ago — she had made “the plan” and they were gone.
The plan was not just to move to America but deals with Netflix and Oprah Winfrey were already in the pipeline.
Meghan revealed how a member of the Royal Family was worried about the colour of baby Archie’s skin.
It was a simple query that I’m told happens in most mixed-race families when a baby is due. It wasn’t a big deal but it got the whole world wondering who said it.
The interview, screened in March 2021, prompted the Royal Family who are brought up to “never complain, never explain” to become more open and to meet the accusations head on.
In the politest way possible, Queen Elizabeth responded — some would say with perhaps too much politeness — when she issued her famous put-down “recollections may vary”.
And Prince William later told reporters: “We’re very much not a racist family.”
After the death of Prince Philip during Covid and the Queen passing in September 2022, the King who had waited 70 years to become monarch was struck down by cancer.
Again, we saw the new, stronger Royal Family as the King gave details of his prostate problems to encourage others to get checked.
In my view, Charles has bounced back from that amazingly well, and even though the doctors have told him to take it easy, he seems determined that his legacy is not to be that of an unwell man.
He wants to be like his late mother and spending his time doing good, not for himself but for others, which he has carried on just brilliantly despite still receiving treatment for his cancer.
The King has always wanted a slimmed-down monarchy, but because he and Catherine have been ill, and in the absence of Harry, there are not enough royals to carry out the amount of work they would like.
But everybody has rushed in to help out, with the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Sophie and Edward, doing many more engagements now.
Prince Edward will be representing the King at US President Jimmy Carter’s funeral tomorrow. It would be such a shame if we lost Harry for good, despite everything that has happened in the past five years.
I have always believed in forgiveness. Sometimes it is very hard, as I’ve found in my own life, but if you don’t do it you become bitter yourself.
If Harry genuinely put his life in Montecito behind him and came back home I think the people here would embrace him because they remember what a great person he was.
No one could blame William for not forgiving his brother
Arthur Edwards
I think the King would welcome Harry back too, because he is his son and will never stop loving him.
And it would be wonderful for him to spend more time with his American grandchildren, who he never sees.
No one could blame William for not forgiving his brother but, growing up, those two were inseparable.
They had a fabulous life as children and did everything together including skiing and flying planes.
And when their mother, Princess Diana, died so tragically, they became even closer until Megxit happened.
Now the brothers don’t even want to look at each other, which is sad.
But you can live in hope.
In the parable of the Prodigal Son the father killed the fatted calf for his son but the brother objected, and that is likely to be the problem this time.
Charles would welcome Harry but his brother will probably reject him.
One day, the brother will be the King and that seems to be more important to the future of the Royal Family than having Harry back.
JAN 8, 2020: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announce they are to “step back as senior members” of the Royal Family and divide their time between the UK and North America.
JAN 18: Buckingham Palace announces an agreement has been reached for Harry “to step back from royal duties, including official military appointments”.
JAN 20: The Palace announces Harry and Meghan will no longer use their HRH titles and will not receive public funds for royal duties. The couple say they intend to repay £2.4million of taxpayer money for the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage, which will remain their UK family home.
MAR 3: Harry and the Queen meet for a four-hour conversation about Megxit.
MAR 9: Meghan and Harry attend the Common-wealth Day service – alongside William and Kate – for their last royal event before stepping back from senior royal duties.
MAR 27: The couple move to Los Angeles after a brief stay in Canada.
JUNE: They buy an £11million mansion in Montecito, California, above.
SEPT: Netflix announces a huge $100million deal with the couple.
NOV: In an article in the New York Times, Meghan reveals she suffered a miscarriage four months earlier.
MAR 7, 2021: The couple give a US TV interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which the Duchess reveals her suicidal thoughts and accuses a member of the Royal Family of racism.
MAR 8: The Palace responds, saying the race issues raised are “concerning” and “while some recollections may vary” the matters will be “taken very seriously”.
APR 17: Harry attends the funeral of his grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh.
JUNE 4: Daughter Lilibet is born in a hospital in Santa Barbara, California.
JULY 1: Harry and William unite to unveil a statue of Diana at Kensington Palace.
JUNE 2022: The brothers come together for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, and again two months later for her funeral. The state occasion is Meghan’s final visit to the UK.
DEC: Netflix series Harry & Meghan airs. The Duke says in one episode it had been “terrifying” to have his brother “scream and shout” at him about their future.
JAN 8, 2023: Harry is interviewed by ITV to publicise his controversial book Spare – published two days later – claiming it was “Meghan versus Kate”.
APR: Harry has a “heart-to-heart” talk with dad Charles before agreeing to attend the King’s Coronation in London.
MAY 6: Arriving alone for the ceremony, he sits two rows behind his brother and leaves soon after the service.
JUNE: Harry becomes the first senior royal in more than 130 years to give evidence in court, when he appears at the High Court for his case against Mirror Group Newspapers.
JULY: Streaming giant Spotify announces it is parting ways with the Suss-exes’ Archewell Audio brand, above, in a “mutual decision”.
SEPT: Harry rejects an offer to spend the anniversary of the Queen’s death with his father at Balmoral.
FEB 2024: Harry flies to the UK to be with his father. They meet for half an hour before Harry flies home. He does not meet William.
MAR: Meghan launches lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard, which posts just nine times on Instagram.
APR: A judge brands Harry’s legal appeal for taxpayer-funded security following his move abroad “frankly hopeless”.
MAY: Harry pays a brief visit to London for an event held two miles from where Charles was staying. They do not meet.
JAN 1, 2025: Meghan relaunches her Instagram account with a video shot by Harry on a beach near their US home.
