The Archbishop of Canterbury claimed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are "entitled" to take time off.
It was reported the royal couple would be taking time away from royal duties in mid-November to spend time with their five-month-old baby Archie after receiving intense scrutiny from the media, and now John Welby – a close friend of the couple who also conducted their wedding in May 2018 – has defended Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan.
He told the Sunday Times newspaper: "All members of the royal family are under a pressure that none of us outside it can possibly imagine. Every personal action is scrutinised. Every statement is over-interpreted, over-read.
"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are going to take a couple of months away from royal duties… If you look at it as a job, they didn’t take the full allowance of leave that you’re entitled to; every person is entitled to.
"I don’t know why it should be a point of criticism that they take leave to spend time with a new baby in the way that the law provides for every single employee in this country.
"They’re not superhuman. They’re a very remarkable group of people, all of them. But you can’t lay that kind of extra burden on people."
The news of the couple’s leave from royal engagements came after an interview with ITN News At Ten anchor Tom Bradby for the ITV documentary ‘Harry & Meghan: An African Journey’, in which Meghan was asked about the effect the scrutiny has had on her "physical and mental health".
She replied: "Look, any woman especially when they are pregnant you’re really vulnerable and so that was made really challenging, and then when you have a new born – you know…
"And especially as a woman, it’s a lot.
"So you add this on top of just trying to be a new mom or trying to be a newlywed it’s, well…
"Thank you for asking because not many people have asked if I’m ok. But it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes."
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are ‘entitiled’ to time off
