Prince Harry hinted at wanting to leave the royal family last summer

Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan are no longer working royals, having announced their decision to step down earlier this year.

• The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are no longer working members of the royal family.
• They only stepped down a few weeks ago, but according to a close friend, Prince Harry hinted at the decision almost a year ago.
• This follows the royal newsthat the Queen’s dressmaker has embarked on HUGE project for NHS frontline workers.

But while the couple - who are now living in California with their 11-month-old son Archie - may have only recently stepped down, it seems that it's been a decision they were set on months earlier.

Dr Jane Goodall, an anthropologist, is a friend of the couple, and was interviewed by Prince Harry for Meghan's guest-edited Vogue issue last summer.

And, reflecting on the interview in the Daily Mail's Weekend magazine this week, Jane shared that Harry actually hinted at their step back months before they announced it.

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Sharing the details of her visit to their home, Jane said, "At the end [of the conversation] Meghan came in to listen with Archie.

"He was very tiny and very sleepy – not too pleased to be passed from his mummy. I think I was one of the first to cuddle him outside the family."

Then, she said, "I made Archie do the Queen’s wave, saying, 'I suppose he’ll have to learn this.' Harry said, 'No, he’s not growing up like that.'"

The statement is a sure sign that Harry and Meghan were considering leaving the royal family long before they announced it - and suggests that one of the biggest reasons for their huge decision was the upbringing of their little son.

With Harry confessing that he didn't want his child 'growing up like that', suggests that he was keen to remove Archie from the royal fold, and all its formalities and protocols, as soon as possible.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have now settled their family in Los Angeles, and made an announcement about their next move. As revealed in The Telegraph, the couple will soon be launching a new charitable foundation, called Archewell - named after their son, Archie Harrison Windsor Mountbatten.

We can't wait to see what they do next!