Meghan Markle has often been blamed for Prince Harry stepping down from royal duty in 2020.

Meghan reportedly had a tearful response after courtiers blamed her for Harry quitting Firm (Image: GETTY)

Meghan Markle is said to have had a tearful response after courtiers blamed her for Prince Harry’s royal departure back in 2020.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced their plan to step down as senior working royals in January 2020, with their final engagement as members of the family taking place just two months later. The pair then moved to the US with their young son shortly after their departure.

Although the decision was made by both Harry and Meghan, who claimed in their statement that they wanted to “work to become financially independent”, the former actress has often been blamed for her husband’s exit as a senior working royal.

According to the 2020 book Finding Freedom – which Harry and Meghan reportedly had no input – author Omid Scobie claimed that Meghan had voiced how she felt about the blame being placed on her during a discussion with a friend.

As per the Irish Times, Omid Scobie wrote: “The courtiers blame Meghan, and some family do. She, on the other hand, felt she had sacrificed a lot for the royals.

“As Meghan tearfully told a friend in March: ‘I gave up my entire life for this family. I was willing to do whatever it takes. But here we are. It’s very sad.'”

Previously speaking about Meghan’s departure from the Royal Family, one royal author stated that it was a “loss for the monarchy”.

Royal author Jane Marguerite Tippett told 9Honey: “It was probably a very complicated situation, the one that Meghan found herself in.”

She also claimed that independent Meghan was was likely to blame for the decision to step down, adding: “The institution didn’t understand how to deal with a woman, not so much who was divorced, but who had had a very independent life, who had had an education, who had lived the first 35 years of her life as someone who called her own shots, called her own story, and they probably didn’t come to grips with that in perhaps the most pragmatic way.”

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry stepped down in early 2020 (Image: GETTY)

Referring to her exit as a “loss”, the author added: “It’s a loss for the monarchy to not have them because they worked on interesting charities, interesting projects.”

Meghan and Harry now live in California with their two children, five-year-old Archie and three-year-old Lilibet.

The pair moved to begin a new life in the US shortly after their exit, welcoming their daughter in June the following year.