Prince Harry and Meghan Markle originally wanted to avoid using nannies to raise their children, but they later decided to take on a night nurse to help them out – but they didn’t have a good experience
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were forced to sack their nanny just two days into their contract after an “incident during the night”, a royal expert claimed.
The couple welcomed their first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, and were keen to be hands on parents to their new arrival. It’s understood that the couple didn’t want a nanny at first, but reconsidered after Meghan’s mum Doria moved back home to the US. However they had a bad experience with the first person they employed and they were unhappy with her behaviour, which ultimately affected their trust of the second hire they took on.
Journalist Omid Scobie, who is known t be close the couple, tells the concerning story in his book Finding Freedom. Speaking about what they describe as an “incident” with the first, he and co-author Carolyn Durand write: “They decided to hire a night nurse to establish a sleep schedule and be an extra pair of helping hands.
Harry with his son Archie (Image:Netflix)
Meghan and Harry were living in the UK when Archie was born (Image:Getty Images)
“But their time with the couple brief. Meghan and Harry were forced to let the nurse go in the middle of her second night for being unprofessional and irresponsible.” Despite the bad experience, Meghan and Harry decided to try another nanny. While their second employee did a “fine job”, the first “incident” had left them both nervous. The book states: “Neither found themselves comfortable sleeping through the night without going to check on Archie regularly.”
The couple wanted to be hands on parents (Image:Netflix)
So after a few weeks they decided to let her go and take on the nighttime duties themselves. But they still opted to keep help, hiring a new day time nanny who worked weekdays. Unlike the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s nanny, the Sussexes’ nanny didn’t live with them at Frogmore Cottage. The book continues: “Harry and Meghan had agreed that they didn’t want their home filled with staff. Harry had seen that situation at William’s home and didn’t want the same for his family. “He and Meghan liked the idea that when they went to bed at night, it was just the three of them in the house. Cozy and private.” The new plan went well, and Meghan gushed about nanny Lorren Khumalo in the couple’s Netflix show, claiming she looked after her as well as Archie.
Speaking on the programme, Lorren said: “I had this phone call and they were like ‘Prince Harry and Meghan would like to see you and speak to you about looking after Archie’. I was like, ‘hang on a minute, I need to sit down’. “I remember just driving so fast, I think I did get a ticket actually, yes I did. When I arrived at Frogmore Cottage, I see this guy, he’s tall, he’s ginger and he’s walking barefoot and I have gone and bought a new pair of shoes in Clarks. “And suddenly whatever I thought or felt, the formality just sort of slipped and I felt so at ease.
“They were really hands-on parents, in the morning when [Archie] woke up, first thing, mum and dad would come in, they would be with their baby, she would feed him, and then after that I’ll take over and normally we would go for a morning walk.” Meghan said: “[Lorren] said ‘Is it OK if I like tie him on my back with a mud cloth like we do in Zimbabwe?’ “[I said] ‘yes lets do that!’ She just took care of Archie and she took care of us, she definitely took care of me.”