Why are Prince Harry and Meghan going back to the UK?
Earlier this month, reports emerged stating Frogmore Cottage, the home of the Duke & Duchess of Sussex, is preparing for their arrival. This would be the first time Prince Harry is heading back to the UK since he made his final official appearance at the Commonwealth Day service on March 9th.
Now, it looks like Prince Harry & Meghan Markle will return to the UK sometime in the near future. Here are some of the reasons why they may be returning.
Megxit recap
In January, Prince Harry & Meghan Markle announced they would step down from the royal family and would stop using their titles. This officially occurred on April 1st. This departure came after a series of hints from the couple leading towards their inevitable separation from the royal family.
In an interview with Newsweek, Prince Harry implied his displeasure with his role in the royal family. The Prince told Newsweek “We are involved in modernizing the British monarchy. We are not doing this for ourselves but for the greater good of the people.”
Other hints at departure
In May 2019, when Prince Harry & Meghan Markle’s son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was born, the couple didn’t give him a royal title. Unlike other royal babies, including Prince William’s, the Sussexes kept the birth of their son mostly private.
Rumors also sparked up from an ITV documentary which detailed Prince Harry & Meghan Markle’s tour of Africa. In the documentary, Harry addressed rumors of a rift between him & Prince William. Markle also spoke about her struggles with life in the royal family, especially after the birth of her son.
The couple also had strong ties to Hollywood before they left the royal family. Meghan Markle had ties to powerful celebrities, including George & Amal Clooney and Oprah Winfrey. Recently, the couple signed a multi-year deal with Netflix to produce content for the streaming service.
The pandemic limited travel
During their resignation announcement back in January, the couple stated that balancing their time between California & the UK was always the plan.
“We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America,” the couple said in their Jan. 8th statement.“This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter.”
According to Vogue, the couple would have inevitably made it back to the UK sooner, however, “the pandemic canceled such large gatherings, and also made air travel inadvisable.”
The United States and the UK are “reportedly developing a safer travel corridor between the two countries”. The pandemic has had a large role in limiting air travel between countries, so the couple may not have wanted to leave the U.S. in adherence with public health protocols.
Meghan Markle’s court case
Another reason behind their possible return to the UK is in the midst of a legal battle with British tabloid The Mail on Sunday. Meghan Markle is suing Associated Newspapers after they published a private letter to her father in the book Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Family, which Markle claims is a misuse of her private information.
According to Vanity Fair, the case is set to begin on Jan. 11 and lasts ten days. The couple will have to return two weeks before the court case begins as they are required to quarantine before the case starts. This means the couple will have to return to the UK by late December.
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While this will be the first time Prince Harry & Meghan Markle will return to the UK since they left the royal family, it doesn’t appear they’re returning for royal business. It isn’t clear what their relationship is anymore with the royal family, but perhaps we’ll find out soon.
