Princess Diana influenced Prince Harry's US move, says bodyguard

Prince Harry's decision to move to the U.S.A. with Meghan Markle was believed to be influenced by his mother Princess Diana, because she had once envisioned living her life in the country.

Former bodyguard Lee Sansum was hired to look after Dodi Fayed and the Princess of Wales when they vacationed in St Tropez, France in July 1997. He remembered his conversation with the late royal about her wanting to move to America to live a private life. He revealed that he "actually signed up to join Diana and Dodi in America."

"She was definitely going, and that was that. She told me she was going there. She didn't want to, but that was the only place she felt people weren't having a go at her. It was probably her way of keeping sane, to get some respite," Sansum told The Irish Sun.

The former guard also remembered Prince William and Prince Harry and how he took an instant liking to the brothers. He remembered that the Duke of Sussex was only 12 and his sibling, 15, when their mother died.

Sansum believes that Princess Diana influenced her youngest son's decision to relocate to Santa Barbara, California with Meghan Markle. He explained, "This trauma happened when the building blocks for life were being formulated. His mother saw America as a place of sanctuary. He will be drawing on his experiences from then."

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex only served as working royals for over a year before they announced their decision to move to the U.S.A. in 2020. They have since opened their own non-profit organisation, Archwell Foundation, and partnered with Netflix and Spotify. They now reside in their Montecio mansion with their two children Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1.

There are reports that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may eventually return to the U.K. when Prince Charles takes over the throne from Queen Elizabeth II. Princess Diana's former bodyguard, Ken Wharfe, thinks that the Duke of Sussex "will be back in some form as part of his father's plan for trimming down the monarchy because within the next decade that is going to happen."