Meghan Markle Got Blamed for Royal Exit—But It Was Prince Harry's Idea

The term "Megxit" can officially be laid to rest. When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to step back as senior members of the royal family in 2020, it was Meghan who took the blame for the decision. The British tabloids began splashing "Megxit" (a play on Brexit) across the front pages, but Harry has set the record straight on who was responsible for the step back in volume two of the groundbreaking Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan.

In episode five, Harry opened up about his and his wife's shocking decision and how it was actually he who ultimately decided to call it quits with his family. Referencing a cartoon in which he was depicted as a dog with Meghan holding his leash, Harry says, "How predictable that, you know, the woman is to be blamed for the decision of a couple." He adds, "In fact, it was my decision. She never asked to leave. I was the one that had to see it for myself. But it's misogyny at its best."  

Harry himself has previously admitted he's been uncomfortable with the media scrutiny of his family since he was young. In volume one of the docuseries, he says, “Paparazzi used to harass us to the point where we had to be forced into smiling and answering questions to the traveling press pack. That made me feel really uncomfortable from the get-go.”

Journalist Bryony Gordon suspects that Harry has been wanting to leave the royal family as early as his prep school days, but was never able to. That is until he met Meghan. “In free-spirited Meghan, he not only met his match, but also the catalyst for a process that had been in place since childhood,” Gordon writes in The Telegraph.

As shown in Harry & Meghan, the British press had a field day news broke of the Sussexes' royal exit, having a huge effect on Meghan. "It took what felt like everything from me," Meghan says of the negative press after their exit. "Your sense of self, your confidence. And the truth didn't matter. The clickbait did."