I just checked. In the official statement released, they stated the wish to be "financially independent" but going into the "funding" area of that time and their "manifesto" how they perceived things to work (at the time, still half in and half out), its stated "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex take great pride in their work and are committed to continuing their charitable endeavours as well as establishing new ones. In addition, they value the ability to earn a professional income, which in the current structure they are prohibited from doing."
For anyone kind of new to the Forums here that perhaps never saw Sussex Royal or their statements, here's a link.
https://sussexroyal.com/funding/
But I don't read that as if they planned to actually earn money themselves. They say that on getting rid of the 5% of their income payed by the Souvereign Grant, they become "members of the Royal family with financial independance",
"During the course of 2020, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have made the choice to step back as senior members of the Royal Family and no longer receive funding through the Sovereign Grant, thereby making them members of the Royal Family with financial independence."
So it was always income "allocated by HRH The Prince of Wales, generated through the Duchy of Cornwall" they planned to live on.
Plus once they were not longer working all the time for the queen, they could surely enjoy all those gifts Meghan had gotten when she was still an upcoming actress (infors taken from the book "Finding Freedom": travel, clothes and accessories, cosmetics, wines etc., all the stuff that top-tier influencers get for free in exchange of presenting the things in public. At least I guess that's what Meghan thought and what Harry wouldn't know because I don't think anybody was really interested if he payed for his drinks or hotel rooms or was invited when he was out with the boys.
But as we knew, the RF doesn't work like that and it makes sense they don't.
Another point: where would they live? According to their former website, they intended to keep Frogmore Cottage so "that their family will always have a place to call home in the United Kingdom." Plus surely a place in the US or in one Commonwealth state.
So what some people here mentioned, that the fact that Charles closed the bank was one main reason for their anger and the way they gave that interview? it sound plausible to me.
Not sure what I should think of that because I have been in a similar, though not soo luxurious position as Meghan, having gotten trips around Europe, invitations to posh parties etc. due to my former job and I'm sure I'd have missed that when I was so young as Meghan still is. So the "overexposure, so stay at home" advice by a grey man and the rules about which invites to accept and which not etc. must have irked her very much. Espeially when she figured that there is no expanding of their roles to work forward to.
For her, this double trouble plan made sense. Harry thought it could work out as he as a single prince was not under so much scrutiny as he was as a married man and now a Royal duke. Charles IMHO wanted to see both of them happy. So he let them go and gave them a buckload of money in his eyes. But not enough to pay for a palace near LA. Yep, security would be a problem but I doubt Charles and Harry realised that in the beginning.
But now meghan and Harry have to show the companies that they are worthy influencers and guests... So jump up on the hot topics like race, personal security etc.
They remind me of poor Diana here who did not have the money to finance holidays with her boys in the way the RF could have, if they wanted to. So Diana and the connection with Al Fayed happened... I wonder who Harry and Meghan will consort with if it all doesn't work out as they think it should. So I hope it does! But poor prince Charles.