Prince Harry and Meghan's Oprah interview planned years in advance: Andrew Morton's book

TORONTO -

Prince Harry and Meghan’s post-wedding life has been eventful to the say the least.

Following their 2018 nuptials, the couple formally resigned from their royal duties, moved to the United States, had two children, and accused the monarchy of bullying and racism in a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Their actions have attracted both admiration and ire as they navigate a new, separate life away from the Royal Family.

This upheaval could not be ignored, according to famed royal biographer Andrew Morton, who recently updated his 2018 best-selling book “Meghan and the Unmasking of the Monarchy” to include new details about the dramatic events that have unfolded since the couple’s wedding day.

As he was researching for the book, Morton said one of the discoveries that astonished him most was the revelation that Prince Harry was already having secret negotiations with Winfrey about a possible interview just six months after his wedding to Meghan.

“They were planning the big Oprah interview several years before it actually happened,” he told CTV’s Your Morning during an interview from Pasadena, Calif. on Thursday.

Morton said he expected Prince Harry and Meghan to escape the intense spotlight in the U.K. and move to either America, Africa, or Australia in the months after their wedding. He writes in his updated book that Prince Harry was concerned Meghan would leave him unless he took swift action to ensure her happiness.

“For Harry, it was either Meghan, or the monarchy,” the book reads.

The royal biographer said that Meghan had “had enough” of the criticism and judgement she received as Prince Harry’s new wife.

“She talked about the fact that ‘People hate me just because I’m breathing. What’s the point of continuing?’” he recalled. “She had some pretty dark nights of the soul in the times that she was a member of the Royal Family.”

Morton said Meghan’s experience was not unlike that of Prince Harry’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, when she joined the Royal Family.

“There are incredible parallels here between her and Diana,” he said. “Diana felt quite suicidal in the early days of her time in the Royal Family, but she got through it in the end, and I think that Meghan and Harry were not prepared to spend that time.”

Prince Harry’s decision to part ways with his family and move his family abroad was for the preservation of his wife’s happiness, according to Morton.

"He’s trying to protect Meghan in the way that he couldn’t protect Diana, and I think that’s very deeply embedded in his psychology,” he said.

As for what the future holds for the monarchy and the Commonwealth, particularly given the Queen’s recent health issues, Morton said he expects there will be plenty of conversations to come on the subject.

"I think we're in for a period of serious reflection about the nature of the Commonwealth going forward. We've just seen Barbados becoming independent. I think there’s going to be a lot of thought about Queen Camilla and, of course, King Charles,” he said.

"As the Queen said herself ‘nobody lives forever,’ and the people are now thinking about the transition in a very serious way.”