Harry and Meghan return to the UK for an extended period, reports say

See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source After their California dreams have crashed and burned, the royal grifters are taking their endless drama back across the pond. What in the world are they thinking? Reports that Prince Harry and Meghan are returning to the UK six years after bolting from their royal duties have caught most of us by surprise: while they’ve used up their goodwill in the United States, there’s even less awaiting them in the realm they abandoned. A recent YouGov poll found only 22% of Britons had a positive opinion of Meghan and 33% for Harry. A new poll found a third of Brits don’t want them back. Is Megxit really over, let bygones be bygones, and welcome us back from our long exile with open arms? Are they delusional? Did failures trigger Prince Harry and Meghan's return to UK?BLIZZARD: Harry and Meghan's pity party reaches new low with Netflix showBuckingham Palace yanks stay offer to Prince Harry for London visit: ‘DISAPPOINTING’British press sharpening their talons The predatory British press are already sharpening their talons. Hostile pundits were on the telly hours after the shocking news to toss about their theories: Harry is moving back to stake his claim in the family firm before his ailing old man dies. They’re crawling back in hopes of guaranteeing they can keep their titles when Prince William ascends the throne. They’re planning to set up a rival royal camp to compete and undercut the Prince and Princess of Wales who despise them. Or maybe the prodigal son truly wants to reconcile with his family and for once, he’s getting his way in the marriage. This much is known: Their big American plans have sputtered –Meghan’s cooking show was a dud that even Martha Stewart trashed, Spotify dropped them and Netflix renegotiated their lucrative contract. They were hardly the Hollywood A-listers the former TV actress likely promised they’d become. While the Yanks have an envious affinity for everything royal, even they tired of the entitled couple’s endless whining about how they were so hard done by. But they’re not returning as paupers – Harry’s scorched earth tell-all book Spare may have burned whatever chance he has of reconciling with his big brother, but it made him about $27 million. But what possible commercial projects will they find in the UK? Will Meghan’s As Ever jam compete against her father-in-law’s Highgrove Estates marmalade? The Duke, 41, and Duchess, 45, are certainly not returning to royal duties – there’s still no ‘half-in, half-out’ option available – but will be private citizens living in a private residence outside London. Perhaps near his cousins or his mom’s ancestral home of Althorpe, which the family visited this summer. Their children, Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, are expected to start school on English soil next month. The paparazzi must be in a frenzy. Fleet Street has reveled in Harry and Meghan’s lack of success and published endless stories about her bullying ways and her husband’s spineless loyalty. Now they’re willingly walking right back into the hornet’s nest – the one Harry swore he had to flee for the sake of his family’s physical and mental health? Cashed in on litany of complaints about royal family Meanwhile, Harry’s countrymen aren’t exactly putting out the crumpets and tea for their return: they’re still angry at how the traitorous couple left in 2020 without consulting his father or brother and then spent the next few years cashing in on their long litany of complaints about the royal family and the monarchy itself. Nothing short of a sincere mea culpa is likely to satisfy. Already, there’s outrage at how much it will cost to protect the Sussexes. A protection expert told the Daily Mail it could cost taxpayers up to the equivalent of $9.4 million CAD a year. Harry has spent the last few years fighting for the full security he lost when he and Meghan gave up their royal duties, endlessly claiming it was too dangerous to bring his family home without it. What changed? There was a visit earlier this summer where King Charles finally got to see his grandchildren and the couple managed not to leak all the details. With his dad battling cancer , perhaps he’s eased the way for them to come back. But even he was supposedly only informed of the bombshell decision on Sunday. And what of the king-in-waiting? The brothers haven’t spoken in years with William understandably furious with his baby brother on many fronts – Harry bailed and left him and his wife to carry the burden of royal duties – which became especially heavy after Catherine was battling cancer herself, he trashed him in public and accused the firm of being racist , calculating and so cold it drove Meghan to contemplate suicide. How will Harry ever bridge that chasm? “I can’t see a world in which I’d be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point,” he said in 2025. A year later, he’s doing just that. Good luck to the Sussexes – they’re going to need it. mmandel@postmedia.com

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on a visit to Bondi Beach earlier this year (Picture: AP) When Prince Harry and Meghan left the UK for Montecito six years ago, the world was a different place. Much of it was in lockdown due to the Covid pandemic, Queen Elizabeth was still on the throne – and a decent slice of the UK public still quite liked the couple, who had recently stepped down as working royals. As they prepare for their return this month, much has changed. Harry’s father Charles is now king; he and Meghan have another child, Princess Lilibet; plenty of dirty laundry has been aired. And the public appears to have definitively changed its mind. Royal expert Duncan Larcombe told Metro: ‘They’re now at the bottom, above only Prince Andrew – or former Prince Andrew – in popularity. Sign up for all of the latest stories Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens. ‘So, the polls give us a pretty clear indication of just how far they’ve fallen like a stone through public opinion.’ The couple’s 2018 wedding was ‘all about the Markle sparkle’, he said, which could mean they’re in for a nasty surprise: ‘I don’t really think they’ll realize until they get here just how unpopular they’ve become.’ Their fall has come as the result of endless negative press from limelight-grabbing moments including their Oprah Winfrey interview, the publication of Harry’s memoir Spare, and a Netflix documentary series. Much of that focused on the couple’s willingness to tell behind-the-scenes stories that paint other members of the Royal Family – particularly Harry’s brother William, the Prince of Wales – in a negative light. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page A significant rift reportedly still exists in the brothers’ relationship, though the Duke of Sussex is believed to be patching things up with King Charles with a private meeting last month at Highgrove House. Mr Larcombe, who worked as a royal editor and has written a book about Harry, said the king is ‘probably cautiously optimistic’ about the decision to move the family back across the Atlantic. However, he said he ‘can’t see any reconciliation with William as far as things stand’ after everything Harry and Meghan said during their time in California. He added: ‘Harry told [ITV] in his interview, that the ball was effectively in the royal court – it was for them to reach out. ‘I think William feels the exact opposite of the case and that he’s owed an apology, his wife’s owed an apology, and if Harry and Meghan don’t give that apology and make the effort, I don’t think there’s any hope for the end of the rift.’ Harry and Meghan behind Prince William and Princess Kate at a Commonwealth Day service in 2020 (Picture: Phil Harris – WPA Pool/Getty Images) For Prince Archie, who was born a year before the move, and Princess Lilibet, who was born a year after, the family’s return to the UK may present a different opportunity. Mr Larcombe said: ‘You have to hope that Archie and Lilibet will now have the opportunity to meet their cousins, to build some sort of relationship with the rest of the Royal Family, and to know where their heritage comes from and have an understanding of that, which I think in America they were very much shielded from.’ As for the rest of us, Mr Larcombe believes we’re likely to see a lot more of the couple once they settle back in the UK. He said: ‘It’s difficult to see them coming to England and literally living a reclusive life, sort of hidden away in the Cotswolds, not being seen publicly. ‘Harry’s still got things like the Invictus Games and WellChild that he supports, and so he’s clearly still going to have a pretty high profile when he moves back to the UK. ‘I can’t see them hiding away. And if this was a desire to move out of the limelight, then the UK is probably the worst place they could choose.’ Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are understood to be coming back to the UK for ‘longer than an extended period’ (Picture: AFP via Getty) Harry and Meghan have already secured a new home in the UK ahead of their return later this month. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are understood to be coming back for ‘longer than an extended period’. Their children Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, have already been enrolled in British schools. The family is not thought to be moving into a royal residence, and it is understood there will be no change to their role and status as private individuals and non-working royals. The exact location of their new home – save that it will be outside London – is being kept tightly under wraps for security reasons. Sign up for all of the latest stories Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens. One possibility is in the countryside around the Cotswolds and Northampton, close to the Spencer family estate at Althorp. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex during a visit to the QuestScope Youth Center at the Za’atari refugee camp (Picture: PA) Earl Spencer and Prince Harry at the unveiling of a statue of Diana, Princess of Wales in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace (Picture: Getty) In addition to spending time with the King at Highgrove earlier this summer, the Sussexes are thought to have visited the family of Harry’s mother Diana, Princess of Wales. Royal commentator Jennie Bond said Harry has remained close to his mother’s family amid the ongoing rift with the Royal Family. She told Sky News: ‘Harry has remained throughout close to the Spencer side of the family. His two aunts, Diana’s sisters, and his uncle, her brother, and perhaps he talked [the move] through with them.  ‘Maybe he’s going to live up their way… Again, we don’t know and I think that’s a shame because we’re all left speculating.’ Photos posted to social media by Meghan appear to show the family enjoyed a break at Althorp, with one showing Lilibet walking through formal gardens behind her brother and father in the distance. Another picture shows Harry in a pool throwing his daughter head-over-heels in the air while his son holds onto the edge of the pool. https://www.instagram.com/p/DbJaOoegacm/?img_index=9 Harry is believed to have taken Archie and Lilibet on an emotional visit to Diana’s grave on an island in a lake on the estate. The young children met with their aunts, uncles and cousins on the trip, the BBC reports, adding that the family’s UK visit last month was ‘significant’ in their decision to relocate. Queen Elizabeth II’s former press secretary Ailsa Anderson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the Sussexes’ return to the UK will be for ‘longer than an extended period’. She said: ‘They do have two young children, they will be enrolling in school. You can’t flip-flop every two minutes and take them out of school and go back to the United States and then come back to the UK, so I can see that it’s going to be longer than an extended period.’ The former senior royal aide added that the ‘extraordinary surprise’ for Harry to return may have been inspired by his visit to Althorp. She said: ‘We know there’s been an ongoing issue with security. He has said until this is rectified he won’t be coming back to the United Kingdom, but clearly now he’s had a change of heart and he wants to come back to his motherland. ‘And I wonder, because of the trip that he made earlier, and going back to his late mother’s ancestral home in Northamptonshire, whether that’s made a shift in his views, and he really wants to come back, because he’s missed his life here for the last six years. ‘There will be questions asked, here is a non-working member of the royal family back in the United Kingdom. Should the British taxpayer really have to foot the bill for security?’ The decision raises the question of how the news will be met by the Prince and Princess of Wales (Picture: AFP via Getty) Harry and Meghan’s planned return to Britain came as a surprise to many on Wednesday night and the King was first made aware of the move just three days before it was made public. The decision raises the question of how the news will be met by the Prince and Princess of Wales – and Kensington Palace has not yet commented. William – the future king – is estranged from his brother after Harry levelled a barrage of accusations against the prince, Kate, the King and Queen Camilla in the years since the Megxit crisis of 2020. Former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt suggested the shock return is likely to have left William ‘apoplectic’. ‘In the long term, the return of the Sussexes to the UK opens up the prospect of two rival courts, William’s and Harry’s,’ he said. The Sussexes will retain their homes in Montecito, California, and Portugal, while the duchess will continue to run her lifestyle brand As Ever from their new base. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source