'A Great Loss': Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Departure From the Monarchy Is a Source of 'Deep Regret' for the Royals

Although the British royal family has "kept calm and carried on" since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the Crown in 2020, the duo's departure has "left a void." March 2020's "Megxit" seems to bring the "occasional wistful thought" in King Charles III's royal court about "if they were still part of the team and of all the things they could have done and could now be doing," author Robert Hardman revealed.

"There is no question that Harry and Meghan are a great loss to the institution, and that is still appreciated and understood," he added. "There's absolutely no sense of good riddance or anything like that. It's fundamentally a source of deep regret."

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced that they were stepping back as senior royals in a statement they released on January 8, 2020. The pair fulfilled what has now become their final royal engagement in March of that year, shortly before the worldwide pandemic lockdowns, which saw them leave Britain for Canada before landing in sunny California. In the four years since Megxit, there has been a nonstop loop of tell-alls about their experiences in the monarchy.

Although opinions remained evenly divided between "Sussex" and royal supporters based on the duo's often incendiary claims — and a bitter feud developed between senior royals and the pair — the loss of two working royals has left many royal analysts to admit the pickings are slim at Buckingham Palace.

However much "regret" the royals may feel about Megxit, it likely only takes them a second or so to remember all the scandals Harry and Meghan gave them.

"I don't think anything could really trump the sort of sense of shock felt by the Oprah Winfrey interview — that was huge," Hardman continued.

But for King Charles, in particular, there wasn't much time for dwelling on the Montecito twosome once he acceded to the throne on September 8, 2022.

"There was a sort of weary resignation, but also a sense that 'Look, I’ve got so much to worry about now that I don't have the luxury of dwelling on this. If that's what they want to do. I mean, there's only so much I, as a father, can do. And the door is always open,'" Hardman observed.

The fifth in line to the throne visited Britain a handful of times throughout 2023, including an "in and out" visit to his father's crowning last May, in addition to his historic appearance in the High Court the following month.

The former actress did not make a single appearance or visit to the nation that made her a royal throughout 2023. Her last visit was to Queen Elizabeth II's funeral on September 19, 2022.

GBN reported on Hardman's comments.