HARRY STRUGGLING TO ESCAPE MEGHAN'S GRIP

She's in control even when he's across the world

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REBEL royal Prince Harry has been seemingly free as a bird, flying all over without wife Meghan, but royal insiders say the controlling, high-maintenance duchess is still cracking the whip from afar! Sources snitch henpecked Harry, 40, remains under the 43-year-old former TV actress' thumb even if they're oceans apart and she treats the former party animal like the ironfisted parent of a young teen.

"He has to check in regularly and stick to her road trip rules, including a strict 11 p.m. curfew," tattles a source.

The Duke of Sussex touched down in South Africa Oct. 1 following a brief visit to England while his wife of six years stayed home in Montecito, Calif., with their two kids, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3.

His trips abroad without his wife have become something of a "regular thing" for Harry and there are "plenty more solo trips on his docket," reveals an insider.