‘Sad’ ending to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s final official royal tour
When Meghan and Harry still conducted official royal tours, the trips were always a hit with their fans, but their final overseas trip on behalf of the crown had a seriously sad ending

At the time of Prince Harry and Meghan’s final official royal tour – the pair travelled around Southern Africa – nobody had any idea it would be the last time the couple represented the crown overseas.

Only months later, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced that they would be transitioning out of their full-time position as publicly funded royals, and the news sent shockwaves across the nation.

Whilst the couple’s final tour was received well, and included some historic engagements, one royal expert has pointed out it actually had a pretty sad ending for Harry and Meghan, and may have signalled that it was the beginning of the end for the pair inside the monarchy.

The expert, Robert Lacey – a royal author and historian – explained for the Daily Mail that the “sad” moment at the culmination of the tour became clear in a documentary made by ITV covering the visit. In interviews conducted by Tom Bradby, Meghan and Harry both revealed something about the difficulties that they were facing as a family.

Prince Harry noted in Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, that he and his elder brother Prince William were “on different paths at the moment” but that he “dearly” loved his brother still – comments which came amid ongoing speculation that the brothers were in something of a rift. Harry also admitted that his ongoing grief for his mother, who died suddenly in 1997 when he was only 12 years old was a “wound that festers”.

In another interview with Bradby included in the documentary, Meghan also opened up candidly, making it clear that all had not been well for her behind closed doors, despite how confidently she seemed to be undertaking her royal engagements. Meghan admitted to Bradby how much she had been struggling to live in the spotlight, especially during her pregnancy, saying women during that period of their lives are “vulnerable” and adding “That was made really challenging, and then when you have a newborn … especially as a woman, it’s really, it’s a lot. So you add this on top of just trying to be a new mum or trying to be a newlywed”.

Bradby then asked Meghan how she was managing, to which she responded, “Thank you for asking because not many people have asked if I’m ok. But it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes,” before confirming that she had been struggling in recent months. The royal expert wrote: “Her words tailed away as she tried to hold back the tears. It ended the Sussexes’ oh-so-promising tour of Southern Africa on a sad note. Self-pity and tears — which Sunshine Sachs playbook had they come from?”

Later, after starting a new life in California, both Meghan and Harry would open up on what had been going on for them privately even more – with Meghan admitting she had struggled with suicidal thoughts during her pregnancy to Oprah Winfrey, and Harry detailing the breakdown of his relationship with his brother William in his memoir Spare.

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