by Omid Scobie
Acknowledgments
(from Omid)
How could I even begin without thanking the incredible team at Dey Street and HarperCollins who have made this special book a reality, especially during such a challenging time in our world. Peter Kispert, Ben Steinberg, Heidi Richter, Kendra Newton, Kelly Rudolph, Ploy Siripant (I love our cover!), Andrea Molitor, Pam Barricklow, Carolyn Bodkin, Andy LeCount, Christine Edwards—I’m a lucky man to have such an talented team led by the strong editorial hand of Carrie Thornton. Carrie, it’s been a pleasure learning from you. Of course, none of this would be possible without Liate Stehlik.
Albert Lee, after all these years I’m so glad we still get to work together. Thank you for always being there with just the right advice and guiding me through every challenge. Those specials were just the start! Zander Kim and David Weiner at UTA—I appreciate all your help. Rebecca Paley, thank you for helping me find my voice. I’ve learned so much from you and can’t wait to take you out for tea and crumpets! And Reena Ratan, thank you for the support and the incredible photo research.
Carolyn, we actually finished it! So happy we were able to create Finding Freedom together.
To all the people who have contributed to this book, whether generously taking time out of your schedule to meet up or dealing with my fiftieth “sorry, just one more question” email, what a journey it has been! I wish I could thank you by name, but in order to preserve anonymity I’ll just have to say that it is only with your help that these stories came to life. I only hope I can be as helpful in return some day.
To all my colleagues who have been so, so supportive as I’ve juggled this project with the others I am lucky enough to have. To the awesome teams at ABC News, Good Morning America, and ABC Audio thank you for making going to work so much fun—I promise to always bring Yoshi on location. To my Harper’s Bazaar family, so proud to work with you all—thanks for keeping me sane with the memes. And to anyone who clicks, reads, watches, or listens to any of my work—thank you for always being supportive. You make the long hours worth it.
I have to, of course, thank my amazing friends for their patience and understanding as I went through every range of emotions putting these pages together. You’ll be pleased to hear you won’t have to listen to me talking about “the book” anymore!
And lastly to my beautiful family—thank you for always supporting me and believing in me. Love you to the moon and back.
Acknowledgments
(from Carolyn)
A huge debt of gratitude to Liate Stehlik at HarperCollins and to Carrie Thornton at Dey Street books for believing in this project, for your vision, your guidance, and your leadership assembling such a fabulous team. Carrie, we were so lucky to find such a talented editor with such vast experience.
Albert Lee, from the very beginning until the very end your unwavering support, your enthusiasm, and knowledge of the book world has been invaluable. Thank you also to Rebecca Paley for your creativity and passion bringing this book to life. None of this would have been possible without the incredible editorial team at HarperCollins and Dey Street Books including Andrea Molitor, Peter Kispert, Heidi Richter, Kendra Newton, Kelly Rudolph, Ploy Siripant, Pam Barricklow, Andy LeCount, Christine Edwards, Beth Silfin, Arthur Heard, and Carolyn Bodkin. David Wiener, Steve Sadicario, and Zander Kim at UTA, I am very grateful. A special thanks to the many individuals who agreed to speak on background who generously gave of their time, sometimes repeatedly as I returned with more questions, more requests for clarity so I could tell an authentic portrait of Harry and Meghan’s life.
Brenda Rodriguez thank you for your faith in me. Peter Hunt, Laura Day, Michael Hager, Mark Miller, Miguel Marquez, Michelle Dodd, Julie Bick, John Green, Santina Leuci, Alexa Miranda, Marc Eisenberg, I am so lucky to have you in my life.
Omid, I’m so grateful we were able to create something so meaningful that meant so much to both of us.
Phyllis McGrady, I can’t imagine any of this would have happened had you not sent me on this incredible journey to London 18 years ago. You have been an incredible mentor and I appreciate your ongoing friendship. Mark Robertson, you never cease to amaze me. Thank you for your kindness and support.
Anne Morris Salinas, no matter how high the hurdle, you have been there with encouragement. I wouldn’t have had the confidence to embark on this path without you. David and Victoria Wright thank you for always being there and bringing your three little girls into my life. Moomer, Phinna, and Deanna you make it all worthwhile. Karen Trosset, I can’t thank you enough for your unwavering support and friendship through thick and thin. Anne Ferguson Foster I’ll never be able to truly express my gratitude for the overwhelming generosity you and Dave have given me the last year.
Photo Section
Diana, Princess of Wales, with Prince Harry, then aged twenty-two months, and Prince William on the grounds of High Grove in Gloucestershire on July 18, 1986.
Tim Graham/Getty Images
A one-year-old Meghan Markle giggled with mother Doria Ragland during a family picnic in Los Angeles, California, in the summer of 1982.
Courtesy @meghanmarkle/Instagram
In 2011 Meghan attended the graduation ceremony at which her mother received a Master of Social Work from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Courtesy @meghanmarkle/Instagram
Harry, aged ten, joined his mother and family for a parade to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day on The Mall in London on August 19, 1995.
Antony Jones/Julian Parker/Getty Images
After announcing their engagement, Harry and Meghan posed for a series of stylish portraits (above and below) with fashion photographer Alexi Lubomirski in December 2017 on the grounds of Frogmore House in Windsor.
Handout/Getty Images
Handout/Getty Images
It’s official! Harry and Meghan proudly shared the news of their engagement at a photo call in Kensington Palace’s Sunken Garden on November 27, 2017.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
On the same Botswana trip during which Harry proposed, the prince introduced Meghan to friends from conservation group Elephants Without Borders on August 12, 2017, and they helped fit satellite tracking collars.
Courtesy @SussexRoyal/Instagram
Prince Harry and President Barack Obama bonded while watching a wheelchair basketball event at the Invictus Games Toronto on September 29, 2017.
Samir Hussein/Getty Images
During their “engagement tour” of the UK, Harry introduced Meghan to a number of charitable organizations, representatives of which were present during a visit to Cardiff Castle in Wales on January 18, 2018.
Ben Birchall/Getty Images
The newly minted Duchess of Sussex with Prince Harry in ceremonial uniform traveled down The Mall for her first Trooping the Colour—the Queen’s official birthday parade—in a horse-drawn Ascot Landau carriage on June 9, 2018.
Max Mumby/Getty Images
Meghan paid several private visits to the women of Hubb Community Kitchen at west London’s Al Manner Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre in 2017, and a year later helped them launch Together: Our Community Cookbook.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
They do! The Duke and Duchess of Sussex shared their first kiss as husband and wife on the steps of St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle following their May 19, 2018, wedding ceremony.
Ben Stansall/Getty Images
After the service, the couple took to an open carriage for a procession through the streets of Windsor.
Yui Mok/Getty Images
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex joined the Queen to watch a Royal Air Force fly-over above Buckingham Palace to mark the centenary of the RAF alongside the Duke of York, the Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as well as other senior family members on July 10, 2018.
Max Mumby/Getty Images
Harry and Meghan took in the sights of Australia’s Sydney H
arbor as they cheered on contestants during a sailing event on day two of the 2018 Invictus Games.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
As Captain General of the Royal Marines, Harry visited the base of 42 Commando Royal Marines in Devon for a Green Beret presentation on February 20, 2019.
Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images
Shortly after announcing their pregnancy, Harry and Meghan went barefoot to meet members of mental health awareness group OneWave during an October 19, 2018, visit to South Bondi Beach on their sixteen-day Oceania tour.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
William and Harry went head to head at the King Power Royal Charity Polo Day at Billingbear Polo Club in Wokingham on July 10, 2019.
Max Mumby/Getty Images
Harry and Meghan smiled as they watched local secondary school students play soccer while visiting the town of Asni in Morocco on February 24, 2019.
Samir Hussein/Getty Images
After a night on the royal train, Meghan joined grandmother-in-law the Queen for a day of engagements, including the opening ceremony of the Mersey Gateway Bridge, in Cheshire on June 14, 2018.
Max Mumby/Getty Images
Archie’s first royal visit! Harry and Meghan’s ten-month-old son (pictured in Cape Town on September 25, 2019) joined the couple on their tour of southern Africa.
Samir Hussein/Getty Images
Proud parents Harry and Meghan carried Archie out into Windsor Castle’s Rose Garden for christening portraits on July 6, 2019, after a baptism in front of close family and friends by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.
Chris Allerton/SussexRoyal
A historic moment. Harry and Meghan introduced the Queen to her eighth great-grandchild, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, at Windsor Castle on May 8, 2019, alongside Prince Philip and Doria Ragland.
Chris Allerton/SussexRoyal
William, Kate, Meghan, and Harry, then dubbed the Fab Four, walked together to the Christmas Day service at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene on Norfolk’s Sandringham Estate on December 25, 2018.
Samir Hussein/Getty Images
Harry and Meghan walked the yellow carpet at the European premiere of Disney’s The Lion King in London on July 14, 2019.
Max Mumby/Getty Images
Meghan wore a headscarf while visiting the Auwal Mosque with Harry on day two of their royal tour of South Africa, on September 24, 2019.
Samir Hussein/Getty Images
Arch meets Archie. Harry and Meghan introduced their son to Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his daughter Thandeka Tutu-Gxashe at the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation in Cape Town on September 25, 2019.
Samir Hussein/Getty Images
During a September 27, 2019, visit to Dirico, Angola, Harry walked through a minefield being cleared by the Halo Trust.
Tim Graham/Getty Images
During the same visit, the prince toured an area of Huambo that Diana famously walked in 1997 and found it now a thriving town.
Dominic Lipinski/Getty Images
For their final royal engagement, Harry and Meghan joined senior members of the Royal Family at the Commonwealth Day Service at London’s Westminster Abbey on March 9, 2020.
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
Harry took a bundled-up Archie out for a walk by the Saanich Inlet in November 2019 during their four-month stay on Vancouver Island, Canada.
Courtesy @SussexRoyal/Instagram
Wearing his Captain General of the Royal Marines uniform for the last time, Harry attended the Mountbatten Festival of Music with Meghan at London’s Royal Albert Hall on March 7, 2020.
Karwai Tang/Getty Images
About the Authors
OMID SCOBIE is a London-based writer, a royal editor for Harper’s Bazaar, an ABC News contributor, a Good Morning America regular, and the host of ABC’s popular royal podcast, The HeirPod. He has become an authoritative voice on the lives and philanthropic endeavors of the royal family’s younger members, with whom he has traveled extensively, and maintains strong access to the Sussexes’ working world. Scobie started covering the British royal family as Us Weekly’s European bureau chief and studied journalism at University of the Arts London.
CAROLYN DURAND is a producer and writer who has spent nearly two decades working in London covering Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, Clarence House, and major international events. During that time, she produced multiple interviews with members of the royal family, including Prince Harry. She contributes to O, The Oprah Magazine; Elle magazine; and other American and British news outlets. Carolyn has an undergraduate degree from Colgate University and a graduate degree from Columbia University.
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Copyright
FINDING FREEDOM. Copyright © 2020 by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
Cover design by Ploy Siripant
Cover photograph © Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
Frontispiece by WPA Pool/Getty Images
Digital Edition AUGUST 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-304612-2
Version 07292020
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-304610-8
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