The Cambridges and the Sussexes have finally parted ways, with Kensington Palace announcing their joint charity had officially split.
The ‘Fab Four’ ran the Royal Foundation together, but Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, have reportedly cut ties with the foundation to pursue their own charitable interests, separate from Prince William and Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge.
And it seems Harry’s ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy is also causing a stir of her own inside Palace walls.
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Royal correspondent Tom Sykes said: “It’s official: The Fab Four are no more. William and Kate will continue to oversee the Royal Foundation, while Harry and Meghan will set up their own charitable endeavour.”
But despite reports the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex are drifting apart and the couples are embroiled in a royal feud, a Buckingham Palace insider reveals the decision to split has been in the process for some time.
It was seen as a “natural and organic progression” given that the couples have “very different ambitions”.
The move was also regarded as harmonious between the four and a palace aide told Vanity Fair: “They [the couples] are both excited about the future.”
“When the foundation was formed it was for two boys in their early 20s.
“Their lives have changed considerably. Everything has been brought into a clearer focus now and there’s a new direction,” they added.
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“This is a natural development. It’s a starting gun for some ambitious projects for the future and I think everyone is really excited.
“There is plenty of work to go around and the two foundations will work closely together.”
While William and Kate will continue their focus on mental health awareness in schools and suicide prevention, Harry and Meghan will most likely go onto pursue projects close to their hearts, such as the Invictus Games and Harry’s personal AIDS mission.
“They will likely have some sort of presence in the US. In all the work they’ve done to date, they’ve had a global outlook,” adds the source.
“The Sussexes will have support from The Royal Foundation in the form of staff and finance. Nothing has happened yet – it will start to happen over the next few months.”
Since Meghan joined the royals, many have recognised that she has made a point of doing things her way and with Harry eager to keep his wife happy, he will no doubt allow the former actress to pursue some of her own passions – in the past she has supported charities like World Vision and the Myna Mahila women’s foundation.
The Duke of Sussex has gone above and beyond to make Meghan feel welcome and will support her charitable decisions. But the recent renovations to their home at Frogmore Cottage have caused quite a stir, after reports revealed it cost British taxpayers over $600,000.
Royal photographer, Arthur Edwards, told The Sun: “It really does seem that whatever Meghan wants, Meghan gets, as Harry was reported to have just said before their royal wedding.
“More than half of this outlay could have been saved if they’d decided to stay at Kensington Palace, in the grand apartment the Duke of Gloucester offered them … But that would have placed them next door to the Cambridges, who, as we are constantly told, Harry and Meghan have fallen out with.”
However, the palace has denied that the cost included Meghan’s mother-and-baby yoga room, and apparently the royal couple paid out of their own pockets for the luxury bathrooms and kitchens.
“The Sovereign Grant covered the work undertaken to turn the building into the official residence and home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their new family,” said Sir Michael Stevens, the Queen’s chief financial adviser.
“The building was returned to a single residence and outdated infrastructure was replaced to guarantee the long-term future of the property. Substantially all fixtures and fittings were paid for by Their Royal Highnesses.”
But the royal rift between the sons of Prince Charles and Princess Diana isn’t the only issue plaguing the House of Windsor – or the House of Sussex, to be more precise.
Prince Harry’s ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy appears to be back in the fold and there are talks behind palace walls that she’s the one he should have married – and she could win him back, as she has done in the past.
“Harry and Chelsy have always remained in touch and she has been a huge support to him over the years,” a source claims.
“Even after they broke up, they stayed in constant contact and she’s been crucial in helping through his many ups and downs over the years – now more than ever.
“Harry has really turned to Chelsy in recent times to help him get through his problems.
“They’ve been calling and texting, [with] Chelsy sending him messages to make him smile.”
According to the insider, Harry was the reason the Zimbabwean-born beauty recently visited London.
The pair met in 2004, and despite their on-and-off relationship, Chelsy managed to win him back for seven years.
While there is now nothing romantic between them, the pair have remained friends and still share a connection.
“Chelsy loves that she’s back in his life and is telling friends that this is the closest they’ve been since they broke up,” the source added.
According to Vanity Fair, the businesswoman was there for Harry before his wedding day and shared a ‘tearful phone call’ with the Prince before he married Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
“It was their final call, a parting call in which they both acknowledged Harry was moving on,” the source said.
While Chelsy was invited to the wedding, she was left off the invite list for the reception, which left her feeling on the outside.
“Chelsy was quite emotional about it all, she was in tears and almost didn’t go to the wedding,” the source said.
“In the end, she went and promised Harry she wouldn’t try to gatecrash the party.”
And while the new dad is committed to his wife and baby Archie Harrison, royal author Katie Nicholl suggests that Harry and Chelsy have never really let go.
“You sort of get the feeling that neither of them was quite ever willing to completely let go of that love affair,” she told InStyle.
“They’d carved their names into one of the tree trunks on the royal family estate. It was such a love affair, it really was.”
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