How Far In Advance Did Meghan And Harry Plan Their Move To America?

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stunned the world when they announced that they planned to exit their duties as working members of the royal family in early 2020, per BBC News. The couple released a statement revealing that they planned to leave the United Kingdom and head to North America. Following the news, Buckingham Palace released a statement about Meghan and Harry's decision to depart the firm. "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have confirmed to Her Majesty The Queen that they will not be returning as working members of The Royal Family," the statement read (via People).

Since that time, Meghan and Harry have settled down in Santa Barbara. In August 2020, the couple purchased a home in Montecito after spending months in Los Angeles. "This is their permanent home," an insider told People. "Ever since Archie arrived, everything has been so turbulent, and many things have been up in the air. It has not been easy, necessarily. For the first time in a long time, they have a clear focus." The Sussexes were said to fall in love with the beauty of Santa Barbara. "They both love California, and Santa Barbara has a magic to it — the mountains, oceans, vineyards, flowers, gardens," another source said.

However, while Meghan and Harry didn't leave the royal family until early 2020, a new report suggests they had plans to head to the States well before that time.

According to Salon, royal biographer Andrew Morton recently updated his book "Meghan and the Unmasking of the Monarchy" to reveal some new details about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's life. During an interview with the outlet, Morton weighed in on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's decision to exit the royal family and move to California, which he claims may have been planned for longer than anyone knew. Morton claims that Harry met with Oprah and would have sat down for an interview with her whether he was still a working member of the royal family or not. "It's not like he wasn't going to do an Oprah interview. Whether he was inside or outside of the royal family, he was going to do that one," Morton said to Salon.

In addition, Morton suggests that a move to the United States seemed to always be in the cards for Meghan and Harry. "I think that the narrative that they'd like to project is that they arrived in Los Angeles with a couple of suitcases and a cuddly toy and that was it," the author continued. "I think the reality is that they've been planning this move to Hollywood for some time, not necessarily where they were going to live."

It's now been over a year, and Meghan and Harry have seemingly settled into their life in the United States — and perhaps that was the plan all along.