The Duke and Duchess of Sussex ‘discussed Megxit before they got married’ because the Duke was ‘deeply unhappy for a long time’, a new book is set to claim.
Prince Harry, 35, and Meghan Markle, 38, are currently living in Tyler Perry’s $18 million mansion having stepped back from royal duty in March.
Sources have now revealed how bombshell biography Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of A Modern Royal Family, which will be released online on August 11, is set to ‘explore the couple’s journey’ to their decision.
An insider told The Sun: ‘The seeds of Megxit were sown before they even got married. The truth is that Harry had been deeply unhappy for a long time.’
Prince Harry, 35, and Meghan Markle, 38, ‘openly discussed Megxit before they got married’, sources have revealed
The source went on: ‘And he and Meghan openly discussed going in a different direction well before they got married.’
They added that the biography will ‘make clear’ that the choice to step back from life as working royals was ‘far from a snap decision’.
Co-author Omid Scobie, who has accompanied Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on a variety of royal tours, recently told the podcast The Heir Pod the tale has included twists and turns that ‘even the Sussexes didn’t expect’.
He said: ‘This project started about two years ago, and there have been twists and turns that no one expected. This is something no one expected.
According to insiders, the couple discussed ‘going in a different direction’ to the rest of The firm ‘well before they got married’
‘I don’t even think Harry and Meghan, who by their own account struggled with the realities of the situation, expected things to turn out the way they did.’
Explaining that the biography gives a real inside account of their story, he said: ‘I’ve been on so many engagements and around them as much as possible, and spoken to so many people in their lives, so no stone has been left unturned.
‘I’ve seen the couple remain faithful in their own beliefs and stand strong in the face of adversities which have been publicly played out in the press, and I would like to think this tells the definitive version of their lives together.’
Publishing house Harper Collins, which owns Dey Street Books, the publisher of the biography released a brief description of Meghan and Prince Harry’s collaboration with the two journalists.
Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of A Modern Royal Family is set to be released worldwide online on August 11, with the hard copy on sale from August 20
The book’s description says that ‘few know the true story of Harry and Meghan’.
It promises to go ‘beyond the headlines to reveal unknown details of Harry and Meghan’s life together, dispelling the many rumours and misconceptions that plague the couple on both sides of the pond’.
It continues: ‘With unique access and written with the participation of those closest to the couple, Finding Freedom is an honest, up-close, and disarming portrait of a confident, influential, and forward-thinking couple who are unafraid to break with tradition, determined to create a new path away from the spotlight, and dedicated to building a humanitarian legacy that will make a profound difference in the world.’
The cover features a beaming Prince Harry and Meghan as they visited their namesake county in October 2018 for the first time.
The Duke and Duchess announced plans to step back from life in the royal family in January, before officially saying goodbye to royal duty in March (pictured, in January hours before their initial announcement)
In April, the Mail on Sunday reported that the Duke and Duchess had co-operated with Omid Scobie and Catherine Durand on the explosive new book that risks inflicting further anguish on the royal family.
Palace insiders expect the biography to paint a flattering portrait of the couple.
There are fears it will also be a score-settling exercise in which Harry and Meghan’s strained relationship with the Royal Family and painful decision to quit Britain are revisited in uncomfortable detail.
Insiders have revealed how the biography will ‘explore the couple’s journey’ to Megxit, and says Prince Harry had been ‘deeply unhappy for a long time’ in his life in The Firm
The Mail on Sunday were told that before moving to North America, the Sussexes gave an interview to the book’s authors, both journalists.
Echoing Princess Diana’s secret involvement in the blockbuster biography, Diana: Her True Story, when she encouraged her friends to speak to author Andrew Morton, questions are being asked whether members of Meghan’s inner circle were being urged to help Scobie and his American co-author, Carolyn Durand.
The 320-page biography, due to be released in August, is expected to be a global bestseller.