Prince Harry and Meghan Markle "only have each other now" after turning their backs on the Royal Family, an expert has claimed.
In 2020, the couple stepped back from their roles as full-time working royals and have since moved to the US.
A turning point came for the couple in October 2019, shortly after a triumphant 10-day tour of South Africa, when ITV's Tom Bradby asked Meghan if she was coping with the pressures.
A visibly stressed Meghan replied: "It’s not enough to just survive something, that’s not the point of life.
"I tried to adopt this British sensibility of a stiff upper lip. I tried, I really tried, but I think that what that does internally is probably really damaging."
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But Royal correspondent and author Katie Nicholl said the couple's determination to go it alone is proof of their love and solidarity as a couple.
The couple spoke about the pressures of working as full-time royals in a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey last year.
The highly anticipated interview saw the couple lift the lid on life behind Palace walls and make several shocking allegations about their family.
They shared that there had been "concerns" over the colour of their son Archie's skin and said Prince Charles had stopped taking Harry's phone calls.
They also revealed they secretly got married before their royal wedding, and that they are expecting a daughter in the summer.
Katie told OK!: “In only four years they’ve been on an extraordinary journey, making such huge decisions.
"But as Harry said, they are in it together, as a team,” adds Katie.
“When you think about what they’ve turned their backs on, what they’ve given up and particularly the sacrifices Harry has made, it’s just as well they’re such a strong unit because they’ve only really got each other.
"Meghan’s only family connections are with her mother Doria, and Harry’s ties with his family are hanging by a thread.”
Royal author Nigel Cawthorne agreed, saying Harry and Meghan's solitude may have strengthened them as a couple.
“It’s Harry and Meghan against the world or them against the British establishment,” he said. “But when couples go through a shared problem, it does tend to make them stronger.”
While many believe the key to any reconciliation with the royals could lie in their children Archie and baby Lilibet, born in June last year, that still seems a way off for now.
Faced with a choice between love and duty, Harry and Meghan resoundingly chose love.