Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s Best-Kept Secret Was Even Hidden from the Nanny
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s decision to step down as senior royals in 2020 was one no one saw coming. By choosing independence over duty, the Sussexes revealed that all was not well behind Palace walls. The move shocked the royal family, according to royal author Valentine Low. He revealed that when Harry and Markle went to Canada for a six-week break in November 2019, they withheld their exact location to prevent leaks of their ‘escape plans’ to the US.
Low, in his book, Courtiers, explained, "When the trip was announced, it was supposed to be 'family time' according to the Palace, and definitely should not be seen as a holiday. Meghan was so concerned that news of their destination would leak that the couple would not even tell their nanny, Lorren, where they were going." A source who spoke to Low claimed that their nanny didn't know "until the plane — a private jet, not Air Canada... was in the air."
Therefore, after the couple had left for Canada, Low claimed the staff grew increasingly suspicious of their ‘long-term intentions,’ writing, "It had already occurred to them that the Sussexes might go and live in America. The fact that they had taken all their personal belongings with them to Canada, and their two dogs, seemed quite a big hint." Pulling back the curtains on the chaos that ensued among aides, he added, "The rest of the team did not find out until the couple held a meeting at Buckingham Palace at the beginning of January. They found it hard to accept they were being dumped like that."
When the news finally broke, many viewed their trip as a catalyst for their exit and the chain of events that followed. Recalling the same, the royal author spilled that shortly before their January 2020 return, Harry sent an email explaining his unhappiness in the Firm and his intentions to live in the US. Following the bombshell mail, the Sussexes were reportedly summoned on January 29 for a family conversation. Low wrote of the incident: "The courtiers saw the meeting with the Queen for what it was: an attempt to pick the Queen off before Harry started talks with the rest of the family." As one source put it, "There was a danger that a private conversation could be interpreted very differently by two people."
Similar to Low’s account of the ‘Sandringham summit,' Harry detailed in his memoir, Spare, that the meeting was ‘just for show.’ He wrote that the royal family pressured him and Markle to stay and sort out their issues, but the couple was hell bent on leaving. Following the meeting, the Sussexes announced that they were stepping down as senior royals to attain ‘financial independence’ but would continue to fully support the Queen.