Meghan Markle and Harry 'taking a few months off' because they 'need a break'

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have surprised royal-watchers by taking some time off after officially stepping back from the Royal Family.

Many people expected the couple to jump straight into their new charity venture, which they have been speaking about excitedly since announcing their plans to quit royal life.

But instead of sharing details of their new organisation, Meghan and Harry have decided to take some time to themselves, with a royal expert claiming it's because they "need a break".

Since revealing their intention to quit, the couple have been working out the logistics with the Queen and other senior members of the Royal Family, including a number of crisis meetings with aides.

Megxit has also fallen in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, which would have had a huge impact on any work they had hoped to do.

They have also moved to Canada and then packed up again and set up home in LA.

Speaking on the podcast On Heir, Omid Scobie said: "It is interesting because we had such a build-up since January to the departure of Meghan and Harry stepping back as senior working royals.

"Suddenly on March 31 it sort of crept up on us really quickly, we had the couple announcing the beginning of their transition period over the next year on Instagram.

"At the same time, they were announcing that they are closing down their social media and their website and taking a break for the next few months. It's sort of taken everyone by surprise, I think.

"There was so much talk in the press about the couple preparing projects and ready to launch initiatives. When actually it was two people that were like, "We need a break too"."

CTV's Laney Lui believes it's the right thing to do, and says it would have been "insensitive" for the couple to launch something new at the moment.

She said: "I think that is, both on a personal and a professional level, a smart move.

"No one is moving forward with plans right now, and if you do have plans to move forward with it's not really a good look to be flaunting that in people's faces.

"Other people are permanently in a no-go zone right now. Nobody is getting any momentum with anything, so for them to be like 'woohoo, look at us, we have all these things on the agenda’, it would have been insensitive."

Meghan and Harry shared a goodbye message on the eve of 'Megxit', ensuring fans they would still be working hard behind the scenes.

They said: "While you may not see us here, the work continues.

"Thank you to this community - for the support, the inspiration and the shared commitment to the good in the world. We look forward to reconnecting with you soon. You’ve been great!

"Until then, please take good care of yourselves, and of one another."

They also addressed the COVID-19 pandemic in their post, saying "the health and wellbeing of everyone across the globe and finding solutions for the many issues that have presented themselves" is what matters right now.

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