Speculation has been booming as to the true reasons that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have decided to move to North America and relinquish their duties as senior members of the royal family. Some people have postulated that it’s to get away from the media and their vitriolic disdain for Markle. Others believe that the decision was made in the best interests of their 8-month-old son, Archie.
But perhaps, an outsider to the royal family and someone who knows Prince Harry personally could provide accurate insight into the situation. Enter JJ Chalmers, a close friend to Prince Harry after having served in the Royal military with him. On Friday, Chalmers appeared on the UK show, The One Show, and gave his take on why the Sussex’s were making the drastic move across the Atlantic, as well as, what could have been at stake, should the couple had decided to stay.
Chalmers, who met Prince Harry during their time in the military, was quick to defend the couple on their decision to leave while appearing on The One Show, sharing that the Duke of Sussex has stepped up as a father and husband for the sake of this family.
“He’s less the captain in the army I knew, and he’s more a father that’s the first thing I ask him about,” Chalmers said. “And I think the decision that he has made, at the forefront of that is to protect his family, because that’s the number one rule is to be a father and to be a husband.”
As for why Prince Harry and Meghan decided to announce this bombshell decision, Chalmers believes it’s to protect their family. “Any husband wants to protect their wife and any father wants to protect their children,” he said.
Chalmers would continue in providing some very insightful commentary, echoing sentiments that have been rumored to be reasons for their swift decision to move to North America, mainly the negative media coverage and the ultimate consequences that can come of it.
“He is a very principled individual and so when he looks as how the media reacts and how social media talks about someone, he has to answer to his son one day when he begins to understand this and be able to look him in the face and say, ‘I made the right decision and I did right by you,” Chalmers shared. “And ultimately he grew up in the limelight and knows how it will end if this isn’t handled correctly,” he added, referencing the car accident that killed Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, as she was attempting to escape the paparazzi.
#PrinceHarry lost his mother, Princess Diana, at 12. He grew up watching the British press & paparazzi treat her badly & that led to her death. He is watching the same thing being done to #MeghanMarkle & he is now a father. He is right to do whatever he can to protect his family. pic.twitter.com/54p7TxlN7k
— Lynn V (@lynnv378) January 9, 2020
Chalmers hasn’t been the only person close to the couple to share their thoughts. Just recently, Tom Bradby, a journalist and author who accompanied Prince Harry and Meghan on their tour of southern Africa, spoke on his ITV News program about the controversy.
To him, the decision to move and leave the royal family created ‘a war of the Windsors’, adding that ‘It was, in effect, a declaration of independence’. But Bradby also shared that during his time touring with the couple for an emotional documentary, Harry and Meghan: An African Journey, he was left with the feeling that the tour was of the farewell variety as they said goodbyes as royals.
“The documentary I made with Harry and Meghan in Africa last year was inevitably only half of the story,” Bradby said. “I sensed at the time that what I was witnessing on that trip was possibly a long, sad farewell to this royal life; in part, to us.”
During the filming of the documentary, both Prince Harry and Meghan opened up about the treatment that they have received from the British press and tabloids. Harry’s answer was perhaps the most telling, as he referenced parallels to his mother, Princess Diana, and her untimely death at the hands of the media. “Every single time I see a camera, every single time I hear a click, every single time I see a flash,” Harry emotionally shared.
On the news program, Bradby concluded his thoughts on the ‘Megexit’ fiasco and the future implications of the couple’s decision.
“Some argue Harry and Meghan were too independent, too difficult, but their friends feel they have been driven out,” Bradby said. “Those close to the couple say that if the royal family is to be slimmed down, this is the right, indeed only, step. But complicated it will be. This is a new war of the Windsors. It’s not over yet.”
