Prince Harry and his wife made a giant move from England to Canada, where they lived briefly and eventually settled down in California.
However, in a past interview, Harry and Meghan Markle spoke passionately about another country that is very near and dear to their hearts — South Africa.
When rumors started spreading, claiming that Meghan and Harry were seriously contemplating a relocation because they were feuding with the royal family, many royal experts predicted that they might find a home in the African nation.
The power couple has many ties to the African continent. Prince Harry calls Africa his second home after falling in love with the region, thanks to Princess Diana, his late mother.
He has also traveled to the motherland with his father, Prince Charles, and brother Prince William.
In 2004, he took a gap year and decided to spend it in Lesotho. Harry and Meghan may have started their romantic journey during a trip to Botswana in 2016.
All the stars had seemed aligned for Archie‘s parents to move to Africa, but they had a change of heart.
Harry did an interview with Tom Bradby during the 2019 ITV documentary, Harry and Meghan: An African Journey, explaining why he was not settling in Africa.
He confessed: “I don’t know where we could live in Africa at the moment. 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.”
An emotional Harry explained the reasons why he opted not to become a permanent resident of the Commonwealth nation of South Africa: “With all the problems that are going on there, I just don’t see how we would be able to make as much difference as we want to without the issues and the judgment of how we would with those surroundings.”
Harry continued: “It’s a very hard place to live when you know what’s going on, but then you’re sort of slightly disconnected from it. So, for the rest of our lives, our life’s work will be predominantly focused on Africa, on conservation. There are 19 Commonwealth countries across this continent, so there’s a lot of things to be done, but there’s also huge potential.”
The power couple’s decision to move to California fits more with their ambition of becoming major players on the global scene through pricey speeches and visible activism via social media and other outlets.
