The drama that has erupted in the press and public since Meghan Markle and Prince Harry stood down as senior royals in the Royal Family in 2020 is unparalleled.

According to a reporter who was there during Markle’s final engagement, it was a time of’mourning’ for the servants who had looked after the couple while they were at Buckingham Palace.

The Duchess of Sussex had scheduled a private meeting with Association of Commonwealth Universities scholars as she prepared to travel to Canada with her family.

Following a flurry of rumors, Markle invited her aides and journalists to her final engagement that day.

Omid Scobie, one of those journalists, said how she was ‘tearful’ when she said goodbye to her crew, and they reciprocated.

Scobie later recounted in his book Finding Freedom, co-authored with Carolyn Durand, that Markle hugged him before apparently saying seven words as she left.

Scobie penned: “Staff who had been with the couple from day one were mourning the end of what was supposed to be a happy story: two people fall in love, get married, have a baby, serve the Queen, the end. Instead, they were leaving the country.

“As Meghan gave me a final hug goodbye, she said, ‘It didn’t have to be this way.’”

Scobie went on to further explain in an article for Harper’s Bazaar that the ‘tears that the Duchess had been bravely holding back [were] free to flow among familiar faces’.

He shared: “The Duchess of Sussex emotionally [bid] much-loved aides farewell, with her flight ‘home’ to Canada leaving in a matter of hours.

“Meghan would fly back to Canada on the last commercial flight of the day, eager to be back in Vancouver Island by the morning before Archie wakes up.”

Markle was reportedly reported to have told a close friend in ‘tears’ that she had given up her ‘entire life for this family’ after being chastised for the couple’s decision to stand down from their royal obligations.

At the time she reportedly said she ‘was willing to do whatever it takes’ to make things work.

They finished with the following statement: “We look forward to releasing the full details of this exciting next step in due course, as we continue to engage with Her Majesty The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge, and all relevant parties. Until then, please accept our heartfelt gratitude for your ongoing support.”

Markle and Prince Harry finished their last public engagement together on March 9, 2020, and moved away shortly after.