Security funding unclear as Harry and Meghan return to UK
Developing story first seen 2 hours ago
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's planned return to the UK has been described as provoking a "crisis for the monarchy" by royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams, with new details emerging about how blindsided King Charles reportedly was by the move. The King is said to have been told by Harry only last Sunday that the family intended to relocate within a fortnight, with no mention of such plans raised when the couple and their children visited him at Highgrove earlier in the summer. Fitzwilliams suggested the palace's ability to respond well depends on advance warning, and that the sudden announcement leaves royal officials unable to prepare.
The commentator argued the move amounts to evidence the Sussexes' life in America, begun after their 2020 departure from royal duties, had proved a "disastrous failure", and speculated Harry, 41, may be seeking to re-establish a UK presence while his father remains on the throne, given uncertainty over how Prince William might treat the family's titles once he becomes king. Sources maintain the Sussexes have no plan to rejoin official royal duties, though Fitzwilliams noted the couple's return to British soil, with Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, set to start school in September, could allow them to win over public opinion much as the late Queen Camilla eventually did.
- Harry reportedly told King Charles of UK return only last Sunday
- Expert calls the move a "crisis for the monarchy"
- Archie and Lilibet due to start British school in September
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King Charles and other senior royals have consistently been reported as struggling to communicate with Prince Harry since he and his wife, Meghan, stepped back from official royal duties in early 2020. That break followed years of reported tension over media coverage, privacy and Meghan's treatment as a mixed-race woman marrying into the monarchy, and it led the couple to move to California with their two children.
Since then, relations have been strained by a series of high-profile interviews, a memoir and a Netflix documentary in which the couple made critical claims about royal family members, along with ongoing disputes over UK security arrangements for Harry and his family when visiting. Any reported change in the couple's living arrangements is closely watched because it could affect how often the children see their grandfather and other relatives, and because it touches on wider questions about the family's public unity.
The story also intersects with US politics because Harry and Meghan have lived in America since 2020 and have occasionally been the subject of comment from figures in that country, including President Trump, adding an additional layer of public interest beyond royal affairs.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Advocates for the couple's discretion would argue that Harry and Meghan, having stepped back from official royal duties, are private citizens entitled to raise their children where they see fit without justifying the decision to the family in advance; parents often make housing choices for their children's schooling, security or family reasons that are simply not the business of in-laws, however prominent. They might add that repeatedly briefing every domestic decision to the Palace risks the very media leaks and scrutiny the couple has long said they were trying to escape, so keeping plans close until settled is a reasonable, protective instinct rather than a snub.
The case against
Those sympathetic to the King's position would argue that a move of this scale, involving his grandchildren relocating to the country he reigns over, is exactly the kind of family matter that warrants a heads-up, particularly given a meeting six weeks prior where the subject went unmentioned; trust and reconciliation within an estranged family are built through such disclosures, and their absence can reasonably be read as a continued unwillingness to communicate openly. They might also note that as members of a family whose lives are inherently intertwined with public and institutional interest, Harry and Meghan cannot entirely detach their choices from their effect on the monarchy's stability and public perception, so some coordination is a fair expectation rather than an intrusion.
Coverage
- Daily Mail — Trump’s MAGA allies mock Harry and Meghan as report suggests President played a part in couple’s decision to leave US
- Daily Mail — Blindsided Charles only found out about Harry and Meghan’s return on Sunday and it wasn’t discussed when King met his son six weeks ago
- Daily Mail — Sussexes ‘already have a house lined up to live in… and it’s not a Royal residence’
- Daily Mail — Beaming Harry looks delighted as he breaks cover just hours after return to the UK was revealed (and shares a laugh with a fellow red head)
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