Prince Harry and Meghan Markle quit royal life five years ago, swapping Palace walls for a sprawling mansion in Montecito, California. While many royal fans believed Harry, 40, and Meghan, 43, would rush back to royal life soon after waving it goodbye in 2020, this has been far from the case.

Instead, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex seem happier than ever living in the US with their children Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three. While they may be living a life Harry once said he “never thought” would be possible for him, there is no denying the fact that the King’s youngest son leaving the royal fold left responsibilities to be fulfilled. While the working royals have tried to fill the gap left by Harry and Meghan, one former royal butler believes there are two royals in particular who have been forced to take on more responsibilities as a result of Harry and Meghan’s decisions.

Speaking on behalf of Prime Casino, Grant Harrold - who was a royal butler for King Charles between 2004 and 2011 when he was the Prince of Wales - said he believes Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie have had a lot more responsibility since “Megxit” half-a-decade ago.

Harry and Meghan’s absence has been even more prominent over the last 12 months, with both King Charles, 76, and Princess Kate, 43, having to step back from their royal duties on occasion following their cancer diagnoses.

While Kate’s cancer is now in remission, the monarch is still undergoing cancer treatment, with both royals carrying out official engagements once again. Although the Royal Family managed to pull together during these tough times and continue with public duty, Harrold believes Harry and Meghan would have shared the responsibility of this and helped.

However, he thinks that instead, a lot of responsibility has been passed to the King’s younger brother Prince Edward, 61, and his wife Duchess Sophie, 60.

The former royal butler said: “If Harry and Meghan had remained part of the working royal family, I think they absolutely would have been sharing a lot of this responsibility too - alongside William and Catherine. But given that situation, the focus now naturally falls more on Sophie and Edward, who I believe will continue to play a larger and more visible role going forward.”

He continued: “I think it’s pretty clear that the King isn’t at his best - there’s no real secret about that. That said, we did see him carry out a successful tour in Italy, which shows he's still very much active when he can be.

“But it does highlight the reality: he’s getting older, and the future is uncertain. So it makes sense that he’s starting to be practical about that future. That’s where Sophie comes in.

“She’s always been very close to him, and to Queen Elizabeth as well. Both Sophie and Edward have long had strong ties within the family, and the late Queen was reportedly keen for Sophie to take on a more prominent role in royal life.”