Queen Camilla – a fixed smile in place – offered tea to Prince Harry despite his public denunciation of her as ‘evil’: It appears to have calmed the Sussexes’ fears about returning to the UK, writes TOM BOWER
Columnist Tom Bower writes that Queen Camilla greeted Prince Harry with tea and a fixed smile during a recent visit to Highgrove, despite Harry having previously branded her "evil" in public comments. The gesture appears to have gone some way towards easing the Sussexes' anxieties about relocating back to the UK, a move announced this week after six years of living in California. Bower argues the couple are returning not out of renewed loyalty to Britain, but out of financial necessity, as their standing in Hollywood has waned.
The piece notes that during the Sussexes' visit to Highgrove, the King and Queen's residence, last month, an insider described the atmosphere as "polite with no recrimination". Harry and Meghan are expected to rent a home, possibly in the Cotswolds, while maintaining their Montecito property, said to be worth over £20 million and costing at least £1.5 million a year to run. Bower recalls that the couple's global profile grew after damaging claims made in their Oprah Winfrey interview and Harry's memoir, and suggests Harry may fear losing his royal title once Prince William becomes king, mirroring the King's treatment of Prince Andrew.
- Camilla offered Harry tea despite his past "evil" jibe
- Sussexes to return to UK, reportedly for financial reasons
- Montecito home costs over £1.5m a year to maintain
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Camilla and Harry have had an openly strained relationship, most notably since Harry described her as "dangerous" and referred to her as "the villain" in his 2023 memoir and interviews, remarks widely reported at the time as calling her "evil." Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and have since lived in Montecito, California, largely estranged from parts of the Royal Family.
The King and Queen live at Highgrove, one of the royal family's private residences, when not undertaking official engagements. Any meeting between Harry and Camilla is closely watched for signs of a thaw, given the public rift that followed the couple's departure from royal life, including claims made in their Oprah Winfrey interview and Harry's memoir.
This matters because Harry and Meghan have reportedly decided to move back to Britain after six years abroad, a decision that inevitably raises questions about their relationship with the King, Camilla and other senior royals, as well as what role, if any, they might have in public life going forward.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Those sympathetic to the Sussexes would argue that reading calculation into every gesture is unfair: people can hold complicated feelings and still choose reconciliation over resentment, and a quiet cup of tea after years of public rupture is exactly the kind of small, dignified step that healing family rifts requires. On this view, wanting to raise their children nearer grandparents and cousins, and to rebuild bridges with the King and Queen while there is still time, is a perfectly human motive that deserves good faith rather than suspicion, regardless of whatever financial factors also happen to be at play.
The case against
Sceptics would counter that the timing and circumstances invite legitimate scrutiny: a return announced only after reported cooling of Hollywood deals and mounting costs on a multi-million-pound estate looks, to reasonable observers, like practical necessity dressed up as reconciliation. On this view, given the severity of the couple's own past public accusations, a fixed smile over tea does not erase substantive grievances on either side, and the public is entitled to weigh whether professed olive branches are genuine or primarily strategic, including concern over Harry's future royal status once the succession moves forward.