Work has gone on as normal for the British royal family following early January's announcement that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would be stepping back from their royal duties.

However, their decision to split from the royal family and move their family to Canada was not made lightly.

"I spoke to Harry a few days ago," said Harry's longtime friend, professional polo player Nacho Figueras, in a new ABC special "Royal Divide: Harry, Meghan, and the Crown."

"He has suffered a lot from all of the things that have happened to him. He suffers a lot from people judging him," Figueras added.

"He's being a father ... a guy who is trying to protect his cub and his lioness from whatever it takes. He has become an incredible man, a man that his mother would be proud of."





Many sources have been quick to pinpoint the shakeup on Meghan's treatment by the media, but those close to Harry also explain that the 35-year-old only wanted as "normal" of a life as possible.

Figueras maintained, "He wants to live a normal life, as normal as his life is going to be. When you have 1,000 paparazzi outside your house in Canada waiting to get one picture of your son, that's not normal."

"He was the son of someone who suffered attacks from the press and it's undeniable. He doesn't want for that to happen for his family," the athlete continued.

Harry and Meghan announced earlier in January that they would no longer be working members of the royal family and will work to become financially independent from the Crown.

A week later, Buckingham Palace announced the couple will repay £2.4m of taxpayer money spent on renovating their home, Frogmore Cottage, in Windsor Castle, and that they will no longer use their His/Her Royal Highness titles.