The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have made the US their home, settling in sunny Montecito with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. Although the family seem happy there, did you know that they almost ended up living somewhere else entirely? Prince Harry has written about his behind-the-scenes plans to move to South Africa in his memoir, Spare – and even Queen Elizabeth II was behind him with the decision! But why did it not go ahead?
In the Duke's very personal biography, he opened up about the time that he and Meghan were trying to figure out how to remain working royals but live somewhere else for part of the year, in a bid to lead a more "normal" life. Harry thought back to their proposed plans. "Brief as it was, that taste of freedom had got us thinking. What if life could be like that...all the time? What if we could spend at least part of each year somewhere far away, still doing work for the Queen, but beyond the reach of the press? Free. Free from the British press, free from the drama, free from the lies. But also free from the supposed 'public interest' that was used to justify the frenzied coverage of us.
"The question was...where? We talked about New Zealand. We talked about South Africa. Half the year in Cape Town maybe? That could work. Away from the drama, but closer to my conservation work — and to eighteen other Commonwealth countries. I’d run the idea by Granny once before. She’d even signed off on it.
And I'd run it by Pa, at Clarence House, the Wasp present. He told me to put it in writing, which I’d done immediately. Within a few days it was in all the papers and caused a huge stink. So now, at the end of December 2019, when I was chatting with Pa on the phone, saying we were more serious than ever about spending part of the year away from Britain, I wasn’t having it when he said that I must write it down. Yeah, um, did that once before, Pa. And our plan immediately got leaked and scuppered."
Africa holds a big place in Harry's heart, and it's very special in the pair's relationship too. They spent a romantic few days together in Botswana after just two dates in the summer of 2016. The couple returned to the country during their three-week holiday in Africa in summer 2017, and Prince Harry even sourced a diamond from Botswana for Meghan's beautiful bespoke engagement ring. It is a place Harry fell in love with soon after the death of his mother, Princess Diana, when his father, King Charles, took him and his brother, Prince William, on safari to get away from their grief.
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