Queen’s aides finalising Sussex ‘exit deal’ as Meghan greets her pilates pal in Vancouver

Future plans: Meghan with friend and fitness instructor Heather Dorak
Robert Jobson17 January 2020

The Queen’s top aides were today finalising the terms of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s “exit deal” as Prince Harry prepared to fly to Canada to be reunited with his wife Meghan.

An official statement on the couple is expected “imminently” after the Queen demanded a return to royal “business as usual” as she does not want speculation about their future continuing to dominate the headlines.

Prince Harry, who attended the Sandringham summit with the Queen, Charles and William on Monday, remains in the UK ahead of several meetings next week.

Meanwhile, Meghan was seen driving to a Canadian airport 5,000 miles away to pick up her pilates-trainer friend Heather Dorak who arrived from the US for a weekend visit.

Meghan is in Canada while Harry remains in the UK

The duchess was spotted parked outside Victoria International Airport on Vancouver Island, where she has been staying with son Archie.

She was seen chatting to her bodyguard before driving off with her “inner circle” confidante, who runs the Pilates Platinum group of studios.

The pair became friends when Meghan started attending the Los Angeles branch when she starred in Suits.

Ms Dorak, from San Antonio, Texas, attended the royal wedding in May 2018 with her husband Matt Cohen.

Heather Dorak arrived in Canada from the US for a weekend visit

The latest public sighting of Meghan comes as sources said the Sussexes’ taxpayer-funded UK home, Frogmore Cottage, is set to be mothballed.

Sources said staff at their Windsor home had not been “let go” but confirmed during “quiet periods” they would be “redeployed elsewhere around the estate”.

The royals have yet to resolve key issues about the Sussexes’ future — including on their titles, security and future finances — amid growing disquiet in Canada about them settling there and the costs involved.

Senior palace officials are understood to have been working flat-out to resolve the crisis “at pace”.

The Queen has made it clear she does not want it overshadowing royal business, including a historic diplomatic visit by the Prince of Wales to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories next week.

Meghan Markle: The Duchess of Sussex - In pictures

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Charles, who has twice visited Israel to attend the funerals of statesmen, has been invited to join delegates attending the World Holocaust Forum by Israel’s president Reuven Rivlin next Thursday.

While there, he will also undertake a number of visits on behalf of the Government.

On Monday, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, accompanied by the Earl and Countess of Wessex and the Princess Royal, will host a reception on behalf of the Queen at Buckingham Palace to mark the UK-Africa Investment Summit.

Although Harry is not on the published royal list, given that he made the most recent royal overseas visit to the continent in October last year, he could be drafted in to join the reception.

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