According to an upcoming royal book by Valentine Low, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex considered a one-year break from royal duties rather than a complete departure.
In an excerpt from “Courtiers” viewed by the Mirror, Low writes that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry intended to follow in the footsteps of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip by spending a brief time abroad before returning to full-time royal duties.
Low is a royal journalist for The Times of London, covering the royal family since 2008, according to his profile on the newspaper’s website. He has gone abroad with the Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and other members of the royal family in his official capacity. Thursday, his book will be released in the United Kingdom.
David Manning, a former foreign affairs adviser to Prince Harry and Prince William, reportedly drafted plans for the Sussexes to spend a year in South Africa pursuing humanitarian interests and other ventures, as reported by Low in the Mirror.
Manning began working at the royal household in 2009 and resigned in 2019, according to The Mirror at the time. According to his profile on Chatham House, a London-based independent policy center, he previously served as Deputy Under Secretary of State for Defence and Intelligence from 1998 to 2000 and as Ambassador to the United States from 2003 to 2007.
“Soon after the Queen and Prince Philip were married, they moved to Malta, while William and Kate began their married life on Anglesey,” Low wrote in The Mirror. “Manning stated that Harry and Meghan could potentially take a brief vacation. A year in South Africa was the most logical option.”
The couple liked the notion of spending a year in Africa, according to a paper describing their possibilities.
Low states that the plans were never implemented due to a lack of “money and security.”
Harry and Meghan have declared that they will leave the royal family in January 2020. The couple ultimately decided to renounce their royal obligations and relocate to California with their family.
The couple said to Oprah Winfrey last year that they had contemplated relocating to South Africa, New Zealand, or Canada in order to represent the Queen as “less senior” royals abroad, according to The Mirror.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s and David Manning’s representatives did not immediately answer to Insider’s request for comment.