California, here they come.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have left Vancouver Island amid fears of a countrywide lockdown and have reportedly set up permanent residence in the tony Los Angeles neighbourhood of Bel-Air.
The Sun has reported that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex boarded a private flight to Los Angeles after vacating their temporary waterfront residence in North Saanich.
The exact date of their departure is unknown, but the understanding is that they were relocating to avoid a shutdown at the Canada-U.S. border.
The Sussexes are living in lockdown in Los Angeles, according to The Sun, with their 10-month-old son, Archie.
“Harry and Meghan have left Canada now for good,” a royal insider was quoted as saying in The Sun. “The borders were closing and flights were stopping. They had to get out.”
The decision to leave Canada has been dubbed Megxit 2 by British newspapers.
Megxit refers to the couple’s original decision in January to step back from their roles as senior members of the Royal Family.
The Daily Mail had previously reported that Prince Harry felt “helpless” amid the outbreak, with the majority of his family based in England. His father, Prince Charles, 71, tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, and the expectation was that Prince Harry would return home to offer his support.
He was with Prince Charles on March 9 at the annual Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey in England. The event was the Sussexes’ last outing in a royal capacity before they officially step down from their roles with the Royal Family on March 31.
The move to California brings the couple closer to Markle’s family and increases her career opportunities. Disney released a trailer Wednesday for its upcoming documentary on elephants, for which Markle provided the voiceover.
The couple has long wanted to be based in the Los Angeles area, a royal insider told The Sun.
“They have a big support network there. It’s where their new team of Hollywood agents and PRs and business managers are based. Meghan has lots of friends there and, of course, her mum, Doria [Ragland].”
