Prince Harry shredded online for saying he and Meghan Markle 'felt forced to step back' from royal roles

LONDON, ENGLAND: Prince Harry, 39, stated recently that he and his wife Meghan Markle, 42, “felt forced to step back” from their role as working royals when they left the United Kingdom in 2020.

Amid the ‘Spare’ author’s legal bid for police security in the UK, a statement from the royal was read in a London court on Thursday, December 7.

In the written statement, Prince Harry claimed that he still considers the UK his home despite the pair’s controversial flight to America in 2020.

Prince Harry calls The UK his ‘home’

The Duke of Sussex said in the statement, “The UK is my home,” before adding, “The UK is central to the heritage of my children and a place I want them to feel at home as much as where they live at the moment in the US.”

He continued, “That cannot happen if it’s not possible to keep them safe when they are on UK soil,” per Page Six.

Arguing for the case of appropriate protection in the UK, the Duke said he would be putting his wife “in danger” and himself in “harm’s way" if they returned without said protection.

Prince Harry further added in the statement that he and his wife were “forced” to leave the UK, saying, “It was with great sadness for both of us that my wife and I felt forced to step back from this role and leave the country in 2020.”

This is the first time that Prince Harry has opened up about being “forced” to leave the UK as he previously maintained that it was his and Meghan’s joint decision to leave the country to settle in the North American continent.

In a letter dated January 8, 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan issued a statement announcing that they were stepping back as the “senior” royals.

They wrote in a statement that was posted on their official royal Instagram accounts, “After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution."

“We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen,” continued the then Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

In February 2021, Harry and Meghan stepped down from all royal duties. However, one of their representatives said during that time that the Duke and Duchess remained “committed to their duty and service to the UK and around the world, and have offered their continued support to the organizations they have represented regardless of official role.”

However, following their official stepping down, they were evicted from their official residence in the UK, the Frogmore Cottage with subsequent withdrawal of security as they were no longer working royals.

The father-of-two said during a January 2022 petition that he worries for his family’s safety while traveling to his native country since the family “has been subjected to well-documented neo-Nazi and extremist threats.”

In the petition, he also offered to pay for the security himself as he didn’t want to burden the British taxpayers. The security case is still awaiting a final decision.

Prince Harry trolled as he claims he was 'forced' to leave the UK

The social media users weren't happy with Prince Harry's latest admission as they harshly criticized him for his words.

One disgruntled social media user said, "Recollections vary," recalling how the Duke previously called it his and Markle's decision to leave.

Another person said, "Too bad! Isn't it? After thrashing his whole family. And now suggesting the late Queen forced him to leave. Outrageous!"

Someone else, "Remember that official statement they made before they moved? They say d it was their decision to step back."

"But he looked so happy to be leaving on his ‘freedom flight’," observed another fan.

Someone else castigated, "What a complete liar!"

"He’s forgotten the Queen gave them 1yr to think ab their decision? Gave them time to decide if this is what they wanted? Or that he called his fam “trapped” bc they “couldn’t LEAVE” like him? Now it’s “I was forced?” They wanted Netflix cash but now have buyer’s remorse," said someone else.

Another social media user berated him, saying, "Good grief. Do they even remotely recall all they said when leaving….not to mention the things they have both said since. Sounds like failure to me."

"They’ve forgotten their own words! How absolutely ridiculous. The ease with which the duo lie is gobsmacking," said someone else.

Another fan said, "Two words... Finding Freedom. I don't think this man is capable of telling the truth!"

"How can they forget what they said 4 years ago? They wanted to chase fame and mega deals and financially independent, so they “chose to leave.” In their own words," said someone else.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.