Prince Harry returns home after six years of self-exile in the United States. The so-called Megxit comes to an end. The American dream is over in Montecito isolated from the malicious British press and the rigid rules of Buckingham. Without prior notice. The youngest son of King Charles III and his wife, Meghan Markle, have decided to return with their children to be closer to the monarch, they say. Now, it is not lost on anyone that the long-awaited independence has not turned out as they expected.
Yes, there was a coup de effect. Especially after the incendiary interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, when Meghan claimed that she suffered racism during her stay in the United Kingdom, especially from a member of the royal family who speculated about the skin color of her future son. It was the tip of the iceberg. Then would come the Netflix documentary series Harry and Meghan and Prince Harry's explosive memoirs, In the Shadow, airing dirty laundry like someone commenting on which foot fits.
The Duke of Sussex has done well so that members of the royal family do not receive him with a welcome party. Especially his brother and sister-in-law, the target of his grievances. Like his father. But we already know that parents are usually willing to forgive. This will surely not be the case with Guillermo. And here is the first big question: what relationship will he maintain with his brother after everything said and the gap that has opened between them. The princes of Wales, who have gone through their own ordeal with Kate Middleton's cancer, are no longer the same as they were and are focused on their role as heirs and parents of another future king and his brothers. British public opinion seems to be largely on their side today. Especially Catherine, who has become the jewel of the British crown.
What does seem clear is that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will continue to be “non-active members” of the royal family with all that that implies. That is to say, neither Royal Highness treatment nor security funded by British taxpayers. Here lies another of the unknowns and even more so considering that the lack of security was the main reason why Meghan and the children stayed away from the United Kingdom: what security will the family now have and who will pay for it.
With the controversy over royal homes and ridiculous rents still in force, it has emerged that the dukes will settle in a private residence on the outskirts of London. They will, however, maintain a vacation home in Portugal and their home in Montecito. Just in case. Because they have not assured that this decision, taken at the beginning of the month after the visit to Carlos III, is not irreversible. And with them, you never know.
At the moment, the children are already attending school in England. The couple now wants them to spend more time with the family, especially with cousins, something quite unfeasible if we talk about the three children of the princes of Wales. Let's see how the ingenious Enrique manages to end the war he started with his brother. You only need to reread his book to realize that it will be difficult without an act of generosity on the part of the heir to the Crown and his wife.
And another question: What will the Duke and Duchess of Sussex live on? What will they spend their non-free time doing? Bad voices speculate that the couple's return does not respond so much to their desire to remain close to the monarch, who is sick with cancer. In fact, two and a half years ago Carlos III's diagnosis was revealed. If not, the exhaustion of its credibility in the United States. His contract with Netflix is in low hours after failed productions, Spotify ended their relationship and the Hollywood elite laughs less and less at his thanks.
Another unknown will be to see how the British receive them. According to the latest polls, Prince Henry's popularity continues to decline despite having been one of the most beloved members of the Windsors. For the subjects, the problem has not been so much his departure to the United States, but rather his abandonment of royal functions and, especially, those comments he has been making about the royal family. Meghan's rating is even worse. Practical as they are, many Britons seem to have it clear: if you want a private life, stop telling private things. Let's see if the Sussexes have learned their lesson.
