Meghan Markle can "finally breathe" as she waits in Canada for Prince Harry to finish working out the details on the couple's exit from royal life, according to one of her friends.

"Meghan felt she had to escape because living within the royal confines was soul-crushing," the friend told the Daily Mail on Tuesday. "She told her inner circle of friends that her soul was being crushed and that the decision to leave was a matter of life or death — meaning the death of her spirit."

The friend said Meghan believed she could not be "her true, authentic self" within the royal family, which would come in the way of being "the best mother to Archie."

"She said she didn't want Archie picking up on her stress and anxiety. She felt like it was a toxic environment for him because there was too much tension and pent-up frustrations," the friend added.

Harry and Meghan announced earlier this month they were stepping back as senior royals. After their announcement, Harry was left in Britain to hash out the details of their exit while Meghan left for Canada.

Meghan is inspired by her friends, President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, and wants to mimic the couple's "huge commercial success" without having to get her "hands dirty." The British public is not happy with her and Harry, and a recent poll showed the majority of the public want them thrown off the public dole and stripped of their titles.

[ Read more: ‘It’s the racism’: Professor says Meghan Markle quitting royal family because her mother is black]