Meghan Markle apparently on her way back to B.C. to get baby Archie: Report
Credit to Author: Jennifer Saltman| Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2020 00:34:59 +0000
Meghan Markle’s return to Canada has produced wild speculation about where she and her young son are staying, and where she and her husband, Prince Harry, could live when they begin spending more time in North America.
According to reports, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex blindsided the Royal Family by unexpectedly announcing, without prior consultation, on Wednesday that they plan to step back from their roles as senior royals, work to become financially independent and split their time between the U.K. and North America.
The Daily Mail has reported that when Harry and Meghan returned to England to make their announcement, they left their eight-month-old son Archie in Canada with Meghan’s close friend, Jessica Mulroney, and a nanny.
Meghan has now returned to Canada to be with her son, a spokesman for the couple told Reuters.
Mulroney, who is married to Ben Mulroney, son of former prime minister Brian Mulroney, lives in Toronto. Her three children were part of Meghan and Harry’s wedding party in 2018.
However, there is speculation that Meghan could be in British Columbia. Meghan, Harry and their son spent the last couple of weeks of their extended Canadian vacation, including Christmas and New Year’s, at an estate on Vancouver Island. Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, joined them for part of the trip.
The $18-million, 12,000-square-foot home Mille Fleurs occupies four acres at the end of a private road in North Saanich, and is technically owned by the Towner Bay Country Club, but was reportedly bought a number of years ago by a wealthy Russian.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, holds baby Archie in this September 2019 file photo. It’s believed she left her son with friend Jessica Mulroney and a nanny when she and Prince Harry returned to the U.K. after a visit to Canada.
The Toronto Sun reported that Meghan flew into Vancouver from London on Thursday evening, and caught a connecting flight to Victoria.
The municipality’s mayor, Geoff Orr, told The Canadian Press that the couple is welcome in North Saanich, should they want to spend more time there.
“I would hope that, should they choose to do something like that, in some ways their experience here would be normalized,” Orr said.
Orr said privacy is one of the hallmarks of the district, just north of Victoria, and he likes to think the majestic beaches and forests he visited as a child played a part in the couple’s decision.
“They did seem to get around to a lot of the spots I go to and where the residents go,” he said.
The couple, who spoke of their struggles dealing with intense media attention in a TV interview last October, revealed their decision to step back from royal duties on Instagram, leaving senior royals hurt and disappointed.
Discussions over the future had only been at a preliminary stage and neither the Queen nor Prince Charles — Harry’s father and heir to the throne — were consulted on the release of their statement or its contents, a royal source said.
As the crisis engulfed the Windsors, aides who work for the Queen, Charles and Harry’s older brother, Prince William, were trying to find a solution.
The royal source said it was hoped a successful outcome would take “days, not weeks.”
It’s believed that Harry will be joining his wife and son in Canada soon.
— With files from Reuters and The Canadian Press
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