Royal duties are keeping Prince Harry and Meghan Markle apart on the one-year anniversary of their engagement.
Royal duties are keeping Prince Harry and Meghan Markle apart on the one-year anniversary of their engagement.
Harry and Meghan announced their engagement on Nov. 27, 2017, and on the date one year later, Harry is away on a solo trip to Zambia. Harry is the youth ambassador of the Commonwealth and president of the conservation group African Parks in the country.
It's a short, two-day trip for 34-year-old Harry, who visited Circus Zambia on Tuesday, where he was greeted by a series of professional performers. Clearly, his pregnant wife wasn't far from his mind, mentioning her several times during a speech.
"I know my wife, Meghan, had a wonderful meeting with Angeline Murimirwa from your team this past spring, and sends her very best wishes to you all," he told the crowd.
Meanwhile, Meghan remains back in London, where she's presumably getting ready for her and Harry's big move to Frogmore Cottage at Windsor Castle from their former residence at Kensington Palace. Harry and Meghan have lived at Kensington Palace's Nottingham Cottage since their engagement last year. Prince William, and his wife, Kate Middleton, also live on Kensington Palace property.
A source told ET on Monday that there "has been some tension" between Harry and his brother, Prince William, as well as with their respective wives.
"Meghan and Kate have different interests and lead different lives," the source said.
Still, the source said the tension is not the reason for the move, as Harry and Meghan's two-bedroom home at Kensington Palace is simply too small for their growing family. But the source also noted that William and Harry are "considering splitting their households with two distinct stands to handle their different paths."
"William and Harry will have different responsibilities in the future as William prepares for his life as the heir to the throne," the source said.
ET spoke to royal expert Katie Nicholl on Monday, who said that Harry and William definitely butted heads after his engagement to Meghan last November.
"I was told that just before Christmas last year, Harry and William had a bit of a fallout over the fact that Harry felt William and Kate were not rolling out the red carpet enough for Meghan," Nicholl said. "They weren't making her feel as welcome as he would have liked. ... Harry and William are incredibly close and I think in many ways, William is probably one of the only people who can be honest and completely open with Harry. And I think early on in the relationship, he did voice some concerns about how quickly the relationship with Meghan was moving and I think that riled Harry."
"But certainly after the engagement announcement and then that run up to Christmas, I think there was a bit of tension between the brothers and I think that tension has continued," she added.
Nicholl also said that Meghan has given Harry a new "confidence," resulting in him branching out more.
"I think with Meghan in his life, Harry has a renewed confidence and Meghan is really behind that," Nicholl said. "She has told him that together they can change the world. And I think that he truly believes that they can."
"Harry is making quite a deliberate move to separate himself from William and Kate by of course leaving Kensington Palace," she continued. "Don't forget that Kensington Palace is Harry's childhood home. ... I think that this is Harry's way of showing that he wants to be his own man, he wants to step free from being in the shadow in which, frankly, he's been in for the whole of his life. And he clearly feels that with Meghan by his side, he's got the confidence now to do this. So their separating offices, that'll happen a little further down the line. For now, moving out of Kensington Palace which is really a major move for the couple."
As for Meghan's relationship with Kate, Nicholl said that she hadn't heard of any fallout between the sisters-in-law.
"I think it's pretty obvious for everyone to see that Kate and Meghan are two completely different characters," she noted. "They don't have a huge amount in common. I think Kate certainly, initially went out of her way to welcome Meghan into the family. I know, for example, she had Meghan over for tea. She has tried to help show Meghan the ropes, but, of course, Kate's got her own family. She's got her own set of friends over here and she is a busy mom of three. Of course, Meghan is trying to find her feet in a new house, in a new role, in the goldfish bowl of royalty."
"No one really knows if William and Kate have any issues with Meghan, but what we do know is that Meghan is doing things differently," Nicholl also pointed out. "She's breaking the royal mold and probably ruffling a few feathers."
For more on Harry and Meghan's move to a 10-bedroom home in the country, watch the video below:
RELATED CONTENT:
