Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Leaving the Royal Family Strengthened King Charles and Queen Elizabeth's Bond

While royal fans will never really know how the royal family felt after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced that they'd be stepping down from their roles as senior royals and decamp to the sunny shores of California, a new book reveals that two people close to the matter actually strengthened their bond as the family drifted apart. Robert Hardman, author of the book The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy, explained that after Harry and Meghan's decision to leave England and line up projects like Spare and their Netflix docu-series, King Charles (when he was still Prince Charles) and his mother, Queen Elizabeth, grew "closer together."

“Harry and Meghan's departure brought Charles and his mother closer together,” Hardman told People. “I don't think anything could really trump the sort of sense of shock felt by the Oprah Winfrey interview — that was huge."

Hardman went on to write that both Elizabeth and Charles needed to appear "pragmatic" to the public, even though there was undoubtedly some "sadness" for everyone involved.

“There was a sort of weary resignation, but also a sense that ‘look, I’ve got so much to worry about now that I don't have the luxury of dwelling on this,'" Hardman continued. "If that's what they want to do. I mean there's only so much I as a father can do. And the door is always open.”

He finished by saying that there's no doubt that the royal family would have preferred that the Sussex's departure never happened, noting that there is still the "occasional wistful thought" at Buckingham Palace "of if they were still part of the team and of all the things they could have done and could now be doing." He went on to say that there's more "regret" than anything malicious.

“There is no question that Harry and Meghan are a great loss to the institution, and that is still appreciated and understood," he said. "There's absolutely no sense of good riddance or anything like that. It's fundamentally a source of deep regret.”

Hardman's revelations come after news that Harry and Meghan leaving the Firm brought Charles and Prince William closer together, as well.

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