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Harry And Meghan Might Have To ‘Renounce Royal Privileges’ For South Africa Move

The royal couple are toying with the idea of leaving Windsor
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex gave their most refreshingly candid interviews to date in new British documentary, Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, which aired last week. Meghan Markle graced the headlines after opening up about the realities of living under the media spotlight while Prince Harry seemingly confirmed rumours of a rift between him and older brother Prince William.

So it comes as no surprise that the couple are toying with the idea of swapping Frogmore Cottage in Windsor for life in South Africa following their widely publicised 10-day royal tour of the nation at the request of the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. 

But just how realistic is it that the family-of-three can leave Kensington Palace behind?  

WATCH BELOW: Prince Harry Talks Moving To South Africa

As the hour-long ITV programme unfolded, Prince Harry teased the couple’s dreams of relocating to South Africa – which the royal lovingly referred to as his “second home” on Instagram earlier this month.

“I don’t know where we could live in Africa at the moment,” the new father told anchor Tom Bradby. “We’ve just come from Cape Town, that would be an amazing place for us to be able to base ourselves, of course it would.”

But according to royal correspondent Victoria Arbiter, there are a few regal hurdles Harry and Meghan would have to overcome in order to put their plans into action.

Despite it being a “lovely” idea to move abroad, the couple will inevitably face issues with protocol from everything including security costs to showing “favouritism” towards one Commonwealth nation in particular.  

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“In the documentary, Meghan talks about the grass always being greener, but there are logistics that come into play when you’re a member of the royal family,” Arbiter explained on New Zealand talk show Breakfast. “Some of them are a little bit more obvious. So they move to South Africa, so who pays for their security there?”

“Yes, they’re both independently wealthy and they could support themselves there. But is the South African taxpayer suddenly paying for their security, or is the British taxpayer paying for that? Neither party are going to be particularly happy.”

RELATED: Meghan Markle Admits Her Friends Warned Her Not To Marry Prince Harry

Although the royal couple’s hopes of moving to South Africa aren’t entirely unrealistic, they would have to make a major sacrifice to achieve their goal – giving up their royal privileges. 

“Harry has long talked about his passion for the continent as a whole; he’s clearly very happy there; he went there to heal following his mother’s death – it is somewhere they can spend a lot of time, but live there full-time?” Arbiter continued. “That’s just not going to be OK unless, of course, they renounce all of their royal privileges, their royal titles, everything to do with their life as a member of the royal family – I don’t see that happening, either.”

prince harry meghan markle cape town south africa tour

Meghan made her first appearance since the documentary aired at the One Young World Summit opening ceremony in London on Tuesday evening where she paid sartorial tribute to Princess Diana in a long-sleeve purple dress from Aritzia.

It may be the last time we see the former actress for a while too, as the Sussexes are reportedly planning to take some well-deserved time away from the public eye with speculation rife that they are planning a six-week break from regal duties.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex gave their most refreshingly candid interviews to date in new British documentary, Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, which aired last week. Meghan Markle graced the headlines after opening up about the realities of living under the media spotlight while Prince Harry seemingly confirmed rumours of a rift between him and older brother Prince William.

So it comes as no surprise that the couple are toying with the idea of swapping Frogmore Cottage in Windsor for life in South Africa following their widely publicised 10-day royal tour of the nation at the request of the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. 

But just how realistic is it that the family-of-three can leave Kensington Palace behind?  

WATCH BELOW: Prince Harry Talks Moving To South Africa

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex gave their most refreshingly candid interviews to date in new British documentary, Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, which aired last week. Meghan Markle graced the headlines after opening up about the realities of living under the media spotlight while Prince Harry seemingly confirmed rumours of a rift between him and older brother Prince William.

So it comes as no surprise that the couple are toying with the idea of swapping Frogmore Cottage in Windsor for life in South Africa following their widely publicised 10-day royal tour of the nation at the request of the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. 

But just how realistic is it that the family-of-three can leave Kensington Palace behind?  

WATCH BELOW: Prince Harry Talks Moving To South Africa

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