EXCLUSIVE: Meghan Markle Orchestrated 'Megxit' in Deliberate Act to 'Dump Everyone' in Her Life, Royal Historian Claims
A royal historian now claims Meghan Markle long planned her exit from the royal family.
April 17 2026, Published 4:20 p.m. ET
Meghan Markle allegedly had one foot out the palace door from the very start, with RadarOnline.com revealing explosive new claims from royal historian and biographer Hugo Vickers.
Vickers claimed the Markle has a long-running habit of "dumping" people in her life, pointing to what he described as a clear pattern – but admitted he was stunned she walked away from royal duties while Queen Elizabeth II was still alive, given the late monarch’s generosity toward her.
Meghan Markle's Prestigious Royal Roles 'Were Not Enough'
The queen welcomed Markle into the royal family with several prestige patronages.
Prince Harry was named the President of the Queen's Commonwealth Trust and appointed Commonwealth Youth Ambassador in 2017 by his grandmother, a year before he married Markle. After the two wed, the queen bestowed the title of Vice President of the QCT on the former actress, hoping that such leadership roles working with the UK's Commonwealth nations would give the couple purpose and goals.
"The Queen gave them the whole of the Commonwealth to explore and develop. They were given the Commonwealth, evidently not enough for that particular lady," Vickers said of Markle during an appearance on The Royalist podcast, "but I think she probably always had a little plan" about bailing on the life of duty.
'I Never Thought She Would Stay Forever' in Royal Family
Prince Harry and Markle made their final appearance as working royals in March 2020.
While Vickers, author of a new biography on Queen Elizabeth II, never believed Markle intended to stick it out as a working royal long-term, he admitted he was blindsided by the timing of her dramatic exit.
"The only thing which surprised me – because I never thought that she would stay forever – was that she did it in the Queen’s reign, in the Queen’s lifetime," Vickers said. "Because I thought that was not going to happen."
Elizabeth was 94 years old when Harry and Markle announced in January 2020 that they intended to carve out and "exciting new role," deciding they wanted to be half-in, half-out as working royals while seeking "financial independence" abroad.
The monarch said there could be no such thing as a part-time senior working royal, and the duo quit the family and moved to California in a huff.
Elizabeth died just over two years later in September 2022.
Markle has waved goodbye to several significant relationships in her life.
Vickers said Markle's bridge-burning with Harry’s family fits what he described as a long-running pattern, alleging she has a track record of "dumping" people in her life.
"But, you know, she's got a habit of dumping people," he claimed. "So, she dumped her father, her first husband, her Canadian chef lover, Jessica Mulroney, and the whole British royal family. Well, you wonder who she is going to dump next."
The People Meghan Markle Has 'Dumped'
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Jessica Mulroney and her three children arrive at former best pal Markle's 2018 royal wedding.
Vickers was referring to how Markle cut off contact with her father, Thomas, shortly before her May 2018 wedding to Harry, after getting upset that he posed for paid paparazzi photos getting fitted for a suit for the nuptials. The pair remain estranged to this day, despite Thomas suffering major medical setbacks, including having his leg amputated in December 2025.
Markle divorced her first husband, Trevor Engleson, in 2013 after two years of marriage, once she got her big break on the USA Network's Suits.
She then dated Toronto chef Corey Vitiello for two years, from 2014 through 2016, and was reportedly still with him around the time she had her blind date with Harry in July of that year.
Markle dumped her longtime bestie Mulroney, whose three kids played a prominent part in her wedding to Harry, after the stylist was accused of trying to sabotage the career of Black Canadian beauty influencer Sasha Exeter in June 2020.
