It’s no secret that the British Royal family has had its fair share of controversy in recent years, especially since Prince Harry married former actress Meghan Markle.
READ: UK police hold ex-prince Andrew for hours in misconduct probe
The latest royal to make headlines for all the wrong reasons is, of course, Britain’s former Prince Andrew.
Now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the ex-royal was arrested on 19 February on suspicion of misconduct during his time as a trade envoy, as UK police investigations into allegations emerging from the Jeffrey Epstein files gathered pace.
READ: UK’s Andrew asked to testify over Epstein as he formally loses titles
AFP reports that this is an unprecedented move in Britain’s modern era, and the arrest was a new blow for the ousted royal, who was taken into custody on his 66th birthday.
Last year, Andrew was also stripped of all his titles after being forced out of his former home by his brother, King Charles III.
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While all of this is going down, Harry and Meghan have been living their “normal” lives.
As we all know, Prince Harry fell out with his family after he and Meghan formally quit royal life in 2020.
READ: Kate Middleton ‘ready for the healing to begin’ with Meghan Markle
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved to America with their son, Prince Archie and later welcomed their daughter, Princess Lilibet.
Since then, there’s been a tell-all book, an explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey and a battle over security, which only seemed to cause more tension within the family.
READ: Sarah Ferguson drops Duchess of York title on social media
There have been many rumours of family members reaching out and wanting to reconcile.
However, given recent events, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex might want to continue keeping their distance from their British family members.
READ: Future king Prince William says ‘change on agenda’
Many were surprised when it was reported that the couple had travelled to Jordan in the Middle East.
They visited refugee camps and a hospital, highlighting efforts to support vulnerable communities affected by conflict and displacement during their two days.
READ: Meghan Markle set for big screen return: reports
Harry and Meghan went to Amman at the invitation of Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
On ‘Talking Royals’, an ITV News show covering all Royal-related topics, host Charlene White, ITV News Royal Editor Chris Ship and ITV News royal expert Lizzie Robinson spoke about whether the Royals should have “allowed Harry and Meghan to leave?”
Ship explained that he always thought the former royals would be good ambassadors for the family.
One very specific quote has divided the internet:
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While Meghan has been the target of gossip-generating, sensationalist media outlets, the comments on the video and on X show overwhelming support from fans for the couple’s decision to leave.
“Meghan is the epitome of grace elegance and style but the RF chose hate and racism.””Absolute own goal. William + Kate appealed to one half of the country and Meghan + Harry appealed to the other. Instead they chose to protect Andrew 😵💫”.”Kate and William couldn’t tolerate Meghan’s popularity so they made up bullying allegations, lied about Meghan making Kate cry, and wanted her out. That’s what happened.””Allowed them to leave? Of course, it’s all Harry and Meghan’s fault. Everyone else has clean hands. Including the British media. 😒 Stay away H&M keep your peace.”
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None of us will ever know what truly happens behind closed Royal doors (except for everything Harry shared in his book), but it’s clear that the ex-royals are thriving in their new, chosen lives.
You can watch the full ‘Talking Royals’ discussion here: