Prince Harry and Meghan Markle: How a 2014 play foreshadowed decision to quit royal duties
In ‘King Charles III’, Harry falls for an art student named Jess
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Your support makes all the difference.A play appears to have foreshadowed Prince Harry’s decision to quit royal duties five years before the fact.
Prince Charles III, by Mike Bartlett, premiered in London in 2014 and was later adapted into a film. It imagines the future of the royal family following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
In the play, Harry falls for an art student named Jess, who isn’t a royal. He then begins to contemplate the possibility of a different life outside of Buckingham Palace.
As we now know, the real-life Harry has decided, along with his wife, Meghan Markle, to “step back as ‘senior’ members of the royal family”.
The pair announced the news on Wednesday in an Instagram post.
In Prince Charles III, however, Harry considers stepping back from the palace before eventually remaining a royal, breaking up with Jess, and reluctantly supports his brother William as the new monarch.
Despite this difference, the play remains an eerie prediction of how Harry would wrestle between his personal life and his royal duties.
He and Meghan now intend to “work to become financially independent”, while ”continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen”.
“It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment,” the pair wrote on social media.
“We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity.
“We look forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course, as we continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties. Until then, please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support.”
There has been speculation that the pair plan on moving to Canada, having recently visited the Canadian embassy in London.
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