2016 To 2020 Timeline
July 2016
First date in London.
November 2016
Prince Harry’s Communication Secretary issues an Official Public Statement condemning the British Press’s torment of his girlfriend, Meghan Markle.
“This past week has seen a line crossed. His girlfriend Meghan Markle has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment. Some of this has been very public – the smear of the front page of national newspaper, the racist undertones of comment pieces; the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments. This is not a game – it is her life and his.”
This was significant in that, it signified that the Prince was serious about this relationship and protective of it. From the very start, Prince Harry signaled what will and will not be tolerated, but do they ever listen?
September 2017
Meghan appears on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine, in part discussing the intense scrutiny that comes with being Harry’s girlfriend and how that can be challenging. Her shots were notably very natural, with her freckles showing through. To me it said, this is who I am and I’m bringing my authentic self.
September 25, 2017
Harry and Meghan make their first public appearance together at a wheelchair tennis game at the Invictus Games on Toronto, Canada. Oh the excitement and media frenzy! engagement watch was officially on.
November 27, 2017
Harry and Meghan announce their engagement. Meghan described their journey as “authentic and organic”. Meghan said she was naïve about what it would be like to be involved with a member of the Royal family. Harry said that he tried to warn his future wife “a much as is possible” but the couple were “totally surprised” by the intense interest and scrutiny.
“We were hit so hard at the beginning with a lot of mistruths.”
December 1, 2017
First joint royal official public engagement to Nottingham, for World AIDS Day. The magic is immediately apparent.
May 19, 2018
Marry at Windsor Castle, becoming the Duke and the Duchess of Sussex.
October 16, 2018
Began a tour of Oceania with the announcement that Meghan was pregnant. Following a wildly successful tour of Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand, the couple return home to a shocking avalanche of sordid tales from “palace sources”.
Meghan is accused by the tabloid of “flaunting” her baby bump and touching her stomach excessively, described as ‘virtue signalling’ by some.
Suzanne Moor (Guardian Newspaper) condemned the criticism of Meghan, describing the absurdity of the criticism in part; “she is not allowed to have those feelings because her job is to breed in captivity.”
“The Duchess of Sussex is public property as far as the media is concerned – the sub text is that she is devious.”
March 2019
Harry and Meghan split their court from Kensington Palace. Rumours of a rift between Harry and William emerge. More than £2.4m of money from the sovereign grant is spent on upgrading the new residence of Frogmore Cottage.
Download PDF: Meghan And Harry – 2020 The Road To Independence
May 6, 2019
Archie is born. Couple announce that Archie will not have a Title, and will instead be referred to as Master.
June 2019
Following a series of reviews, Harry and Meghan announce that they will split their charity projects from the combined charitable instrument, The Royal Foundation, and establish their own their own charitable umbrella, Sussex Royal.
August 2019
The culmination of months of media abuse and establishment machinating to cast Harry and Meghan as the “wrong kind of royals/ ‘royaling’ the wrong way”, so that they can go ahead and say that the couple are no longer popular- which was the the original sin. Harry and Meghan are accused of being hypocrites for flying in a private jet.
The out-sized media reaction to their private travel and the ensuing publicity stunt by the Cambridges, The Empty Planes fiasco or FLYBE-gate, crystallized the lengths the media were prepared to go (searching for dubious experts and crafting questionable polls) to vilify the Sussexes, while excusing the Cambridges actions at any cost, even their professional integrity.
Sept-October 2019
Sussexes tour South Africa. Owing to legal procedural considerations, Meghan’s lawsuit against Associated Newspapers is filed before the tour concludes, prompting a statement from Prince Harry on the penultimate day of the tour. With that news naturally is captured in the tour documentary during which when questioned, Meghan revealed what a strain the media assault had been on their life.
Meghan, referring to the tabloids :
“I never thought it would be easy but I thought it would be fair.”
The Duchess of Sussex sues the publisher of the Mail on Sunday, after the newspaper published a handwritten letter she sent to her estranged father. Harry said he “could no longer be a silent witness to her private suffering”.
Harry –
“there comes a point when the only thing to do is to stand up to this behaviour, because it destroys people and destroys their lives.”
Harry –
“though this action is not the safe one, it is the right one. I have seen what can happen when someone I love I commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”
November 2019
Harry and Meghan announce that they will not spend Christmas with the Royal family and instead will take a six week break.
December 2019
Following a press briefing at Kensington Palace, purportedly for royal Christmas events, Rebecca English reveals in an article for the daily mail, that Harry and Meghan are spending their break in Canada. Following this breach, the Sussexes are forced to confirm their location through their office.
7th January 2020
Harry and Meghan, upon their return from Canada, visit Canada House in London, to thank Canadians for the kindness and hospitality shown to the couple during their six week break in Vancouver.
8th January 2020
The couple announce that they intend to step back as senior members of the Royal Family and become financially independent, while splitting their time between the UK and North America
Key Dates in Harry and Meghan’s Independence Moving Forward
7th Feb 2020
Private Event attended by Harry and Meghan hosted by JP Morgan in Miami.
April 2020
Disney Plus- Elephants Voice Over.This was brokered in the summer/ autumn of 2019 prior to their decision to step back. Disney made a donation to the charity Elephants Without Boarders, in return for Meghan’s work.
April 2020
Project Angel Food – Harry and Meghan helped to deliver food to vulnerable families in LA
14th July 2020
Girl Up Leadership Summit – Meghan Gave Empowering Speech
4/8/20-15/9/20
Camfed Fundraiser by Sussex Supporters. Raised $129.926 which was matched by Harry and Meghan.
August 2020
Meghan interviews Emily Ramshaw – CEO of The 19th news organisation
21 August 2020
Volunteering with Baby2Baby giving out essential packages for school children ready for the new school year.
Sept 2020
Netflix: A multi-year production deal worth millions, is announced. All royal hell breaks loose and incandescence ensues.
Meghan and SmartWorks celebrate one year anniversary of Smart Set Collection.
It is announced that Harry and Meghan have voluntarily re-reimbursed the sovereign grant for the £2.4m renovation costs for Frogmore Cottage and paid rent in advance. With this, Harry and Meghan have severed all financial ties from the Monarchy and it’s sources of funding.
October 2020
Harry and Meghan curate and Host an installment of TIME 100 Talks: Engineering a Better World.
Archewell website is launched.
November 2020
Harry and Meghan Observe Remembrance day in LA
Harry makes a speech to support a charity benefit for veterans, organised by the Bob Woodruff Foundation.
Dec 2020
Meghan Invests in the Santa Barbara start-up, Clevr Blends.
Spotify! Harry and Meghan will host, and Archewell Audio will produce podcasts exclusively for Spotify, coming in 2021.
Archewell partners with World Central Kitchen, to help fund four new Relief Service Centers around the world.
NINE MONTHS DOWN, A LIFETIME MORE TO GO. We love to see it!
