Meghan Markle and Prince Harry walked away from their roles as senior members of the Royal Family in January 2020, but they have maintained their links in two ways – and for very important reasons

Despite stepping down as senior members of the Royal Family in January 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have kept their Royal ties intact. They’ve retained their titles, allowing their children to use their Prince and Princess styles, and continue to undertake ‘semi-royal’ tours.

Yet, despite their continued use of their royal titles, Meghan hasn’t accompanied Harry on a UK visit since Queen Elizabeth II’s passing in September 2022. However, a top Royal expert suggests that despite this distance, the Duchess’ Royal connections are far from over.

“If Meghan is encouraging Harry to leave the past behind and move on, then I think it is a healthy move. They have made their decision, left the working Royal Family and left the UK,” former BBC Royal correspondent Jennie Bond told OK! “Brooding on the perceived injustices of the past and reliving old quarrels is a waste of a life, and I think Meghan sees that.”

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sit next to each other on a bench, smiling. Harry is wearing a blue shirt and Meghan a black dress.
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan have just returned from a trip to Colombia ( Image: ANDRES CASTILLA 2024)

While Meghan understands Harry’s desire to maintain his UK ties, Jennie points out that it’s easier for the Duchess to distance herself from her Royal role, having officially held it for less than two years.

“On the other hand, she doesn’t have an entire and complex history of life in the confines of the royal family to worry about,” Jennie adds. “It’s easy for her to look forward, ensconced as she is in a country and lifestyle she is so used to and clearly loves.

“But Harry has said he wants to be reunited with his family so he is obviously going to think about what has happened and how they have come to this state of affairs. And that’s probably quite frustrating for Meghan… who seems to be at ease with estrangement from her own family.”

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
Jennie believes that Prince Harry is missing his family amid their ongoing estrangement ( Image: via Getty Images)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their Colombia tour
Meghan meanwhile has been keen to keep some links to the royal family, for the sake of their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet (: Getty Images)

With Harry nearing the big 4-0 on 15 September, he’s just wrapped up a ‘semi-royal’ tour of Colombia – a move pundits are calling spot-on for keeping in touch with his service-driven upbringing. As Harry tries to weave his past Royal life with his new chapter in California, Jennie weighs in on why Meghan keeps only minimal links to her short stint as a working Royal.

“I don’t think Harry spends all his time looking back, but the Harry I knew as a young boy was someone who enjoyed fooling around with his family and having fun with them,” Jennie reflects. “In his book Spare he writes about his fond memories of some of those family gatherings and it’s only natural that he now misses that connection and perhaps is still considering ways of repairing the damage done in recent years. Meghan, however, has I think consigned her brief dalliance at being royal very firmly to the past… except for the title and the kudos it brings.”