Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Exit from the Firm Has Reportedly Had “A Huge Impact” on Prince William and Princess Kate and Their Marriage

Prince William, Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry

(Image credit: Getty)

published 21 October 2023

When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back as working members of the royal family in January 2020 and moved to the U.S., their lives were forever changed—but Harry and Meghan weren’t the only ones who felt the seismic shift. The Firm being down two working royals has trickled down to impact the Prince and Princess of Wales, The Mirror reports, and their exit has had “a huge impact” on William and Kate’s marriage, the outlet reports.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the 2023 Invictus Games

A source said, per the publication, that William and Kate harbor resentment because they were left “to pick up the work they dropped when they moved to the States,” they said. “The extra workload that’s been handed to them is huge.” William and Kate have taken on “even more responsibility” in the three-and-a-half years since the step back, and they said this has had a “huge impact on their marriage and family life.”

Prince William and Kate Middleton at a royal engagement

Add to the step back projects like Netflix’s Harry & Meghan docuseries and Harry’s memoir, Spare—both of which at times openly criticize members of the royal family—and William and Kate are feeling the strain: “At times it can feel like they are cracking under this relentless pressure,” they said. “With less time at home together and having to spend more time apart, they feel constantly torn apart in different directions and they insist that wouldn’t be happening if Harry and Meghan hadn’t abandoned their royal duties,” they said.

With the loss of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in the past two years, as well as Harry, Meghan, and Prince Andrew no longer working as senior royals, King Charles’ longtime wish for a slimmed-down monarchy has no doubt come true. And it does seem like William and Kate are busier and more out front than ever these days, but not this past week—their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis are on half-term break from Lambrook School, and William and Kate took the week off to spend quality time with them.

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.