The Duchess of Sussex has recently opened up about feeling "not well" after being apart from her children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, for "almost three weeks" in the past. She made the revelation in season 2 of her Netflix series, With Love, Meghan, and explained that this was the longest period she’s been away from them.
Although it’s not known exactly when she’s referring to, Meghan hasn’t been away from her children for extended periods in the past few years. On the occasions Prince Harry has been back to the UK since they settled in the US, he’s tended to travel solo.
Now, speaking to OK!, royal expert Duncan Larcombe has expressed his belief that the Duchess was "never" ready to make certain sacrifices as a royal mum. In his view, she was always determined to be hands-on and this isn’t always easy when you’re a senior Royal Family member.
"Meghan clearly hates being apart from her children and when Harry has come to the UK, Meghan hasn’t come with him and has been blamed for snubbing Britain as a result," he said, claiming, "I think it runs deeper than that, she wants to be a hands-on mum and was never prepared to make the sacrifice that royal mums have to make."
According to Duncan, being a royal mother comes with specific sacrifices. We’ve seen this with the Princess of Wales, who's incredibly hands-on too. She’s constantly navigating work responsibilities with parenting Prince George, Charlotte and Louis.
She and Prince William often do the school run, though on the occasions where they can’t, Kate does feel "mum guilt". Speaking on the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast in 2020, she admitted that this is the case, reflecting that she’d been asked by George and Charlotte, "Mummy how could you possibly not be dropping us off?"
The Princess also described the work/mum balance as a "constant struggle", and as a royal there are plenty of occasions where she’s been away from her kids for engagements or overseas visits. This will always be the case given her position and Duncan’s suggestion that Meghan supposedly might not have wanted to make this "sacrifice" is entirely understandable.
The royal expert went on to claim that the "biggest challenge" faced by senior royals as parents is striking a balance between allowing their children freedom and protecting them from scrutiny.
He alleged, "If you’ve got children and you’re a senior member of the royal family, your biggest challenge is to stop them growing up in a prison. Kate, for example, can’t just pop down to the shops with George."
Instead, the Wales family are always accompanied by their protection officers. As mentioned by Duncan, there "needs to be a degree of planning" whenever they leave Adelaide Cottage and they "run the risk of being mobbed by crowds" of friends.
In his view, "[t]hat’s not Meghan". Now she and Prince Harry live in the US, they still face scrutiny, but have more freedom to forge their own traditions, pursue their projects and dictate their schedules. Archie and Lilibet’s faces have only been shared online a small amount of times, giving them a high level of privacy too.
The last time the Sussexes all visited the UK as a family was back in 2022 for the late Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee. They marked the now-4-year-old Lilibet’s 1st birthday and shared a sweet picture of her taken by Misan Harriman to mark this special occasion.
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