A global pandemic hasn't slowed Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, from making headwinds to becoming financially independent.
It's almost a year since the pair announced they were "stepping back" from their roles as senior members of the royal family.
They said they wanted to become financially independent and divide their time between the United Kingdom and North America.
They also wanted to escape the tabloid media scrutiny and strictures of their roles.
The pair left life as full-time royals in March 2020 on the understanding the decision would be reviewed in 12 months.
Since then, the Duke and Duchess have been busy.
Steps towards a new life
Prince Harry admitted just before jetting off for a family reunion with his wife and son Archie in Canada that he was taking a "leap of faith" to build a more peaceful life, free of royal constraints.
Just days earlier, he'd made a deal with Queen Elizabeth II and other senior royals to secure an exit from official roles.
"The UK is my home and a place that I love. That will never change," he told a charity function in London.
"It brings me great sadness that it has come to this. The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back, is not one I made lightly.
"It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges.
"And I know I haven't always gotten it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option."
Becoming financially independent
The Duchess, an actress who starred in television series Suits, quickly landed her first job post-royal split with a narration role on Disney's documentary, Elephant.
Months before Meghan's role was announced, Prince Harry was overheard spruiking his wife's interest in doing voiceovers to Disney's then-chief executive Bob Iger at the London premiere of The Lion King.
There have been other high-profile gigs including a book promising to capture "the real Harry and Meghan", a multi-year Netflix deal to produce content, a podcast on Spotify and the creation of audio-first production company, Archewell Audio.
The Duchess also enlisted the help of Oprah Winfrey to promote an oat milk latte company she invested in.
Community work continued
The Duke and Duchess have said they are committed to working with organisations they have had an association with despite being stripped of royal patronages.
"We can all live a life of service. Service is universal," the couple said in a statement this week.
Over the past year, they have thrown their celebrity power behind several campaigns for children and to fight racism.
In May from their Los Angeles home, they released a three-minute video to the Instagram accounts of Save With Stories and Save the Children UK of Meghan reading a book to Archie.
The video raised awareness about a campaign to bring food and learning resources to children and families struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Later in the year, they said racial injustice could not move forward unless the Commonwealth acknowledged its past during a video-link hosted by the Queen's Commonwealth Trust.
At the time, they were president and vice-president.
They were also criticised for being too political after urging Americans to vote in the US presidential election.
Heartbreak
The Duchess revealed in an opinion article in the New York Times she had a miscarriage.
She recounted the experience in detail.
"I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second," Meghan wrote.
She said she was sharing her story to help break the silence around an all-too-common tragedy.
Wins against the media
There's no doubt, the couple continues to have a tense relationship with sections of the British media.
Last year, they filed a lawsuit in California against unnamed paparazzi photographers claiming "illegal" photographs of their son had been taken in their Los Angeles garden.
They claimed drones had flown above their home "as often as three times a day", helicopters had been used and holes had been cut into a security fence.
They settled with a celebrity photo agency and received an apology.
Earlier this month, Meghan had a legal victory in a lawsuit against the publisher of the Mail on Sunday, when a British judge ruled the newspaper invaded her privacy by publishing part of a letter she wrote to her estranged father, Thomas Markle.
"After two long years of pursuing litigation, I am grateful to the courts for holding Associated Newspapers and The Mail on Sunday to account for their illegal and dehumanising practices," she said in a statement.
"For these outlets, it's a game. For me and so many others, it's real life, real relationships, and very real sadness," she said.
Meghan wrote the five-page letter to Mr Markle after their relationship collapsed in the run-up to her glittering wedding to Harry in May 2018, which her father missed due to ill health and after he admitted posing for paparazzi pictures.
Only days before, Prince Harry won an apology and substantial damages after the same British tabloid claimed he turned his back on the military when he ended his royal role.
He will donate the money to the Invictus Games, an international sporting event he founded for military personnel wounded in action.
The split
The split is official.
Buckingham Palace recently confirmed the Duke and Duchess will not return to royal duties and that the Prince will give up his honorary military titles.
The statement from Buckingham Palace says while "all are saddened" by their decision, the couple remain "much-loved members of the family".
"Following conversations with the Duke, the Queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of The Royal Family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service.
"The honorary military appointments and Royal patronages held by the Duke and Duchess will therefore be returned to Her Majesty, before being redistributed among working members of the Royal Family."
Prince Harry, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, will lose his honorary military appointments and no longer be Captain General of the Royal Marines.
He will remain the patron of the Invictus Games Foundation.
And now?
They retain their titles of Duke and Duchess and Harry is still sixth in line to the British throne — despite retreating from royal life.
The American-based couple doesn't seem to have plans to slow down anytime soon with a baby on the way and an interview with Oprah Winfrey to be broadcast on March 7.
LoadingCBS said the interview would cover becoming a royal, marriage, motherhood, philanthropic work and living under intense public pressure.
"Later, the two are joined by Prince Harry as they speak about their move to the United States and their future hopes and dreams for their expanding family," the network said.
ABC/wires
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTAyLTIwL3ByaW5jZS1oYXJyeS1hbmQtbWVnaGFuLWJ1c3ktYWZ0ZXItYnJlYWtpbmctYXdheS1mcm9tLXJveWFscy8xMzE3NDk1NtIBJ2h0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMzE3NDk1Ng?oc=5
2021-02-20 08:09:15Z
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