As we discussed at length on this site and on the Gossip with Celebitchy podcast, Finding Freedom was not a bridge-burning book for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. As much as their ardent defenders want to believe that Harry and Meghan are never, ever going back to the UK, H&M made it pretty clear that they are open to the idea of coming back, but only after they’ve gotten some space from the drama, the racism and the abuse they suffered. What’s odd is that a whole other tell-all book could probably be written *just* about what happened after they announced their exit in January. FF got into it in the last chapters of the book, but it felt tacked-on and incomplete. It’s worth noting that they originally asked to basically be part-time royals, and to travel between North America and the UK. Anyway, this story will probably be ammo for the “Harry is already desperate to return to England” crowd:
Prince Harry has said he ‘definitely would have been back’ to the UK ‘were it not for COVID-19 crisis in a new video released to mark Rugby League’s 125th birthday. The Duke of Sussex, 35, joined a virtual call alongside staff and volunteers from the Rugby Football League from his $14 million mansion in Santa Barbara where he is currently living with Meghan Markle, 39.
Prince Harry hosted his first ever Zoom quiz to mark the occasion, and joked that if he had been taking part ‘he would have had the rest of my family on the other side of the family.’ He added: ‘We’ve got a whole Rugby League world cup coming next year. I definitely plan on coming back. I would have been back already had it not been for Covid.’
I’m choosing to take that as Harry was already planning to return for Beatrice’s originally scheduled wedding, which was supposed to be in May, and probably returning to do some charity work as well. But, as I said, it will become fodder for certain anti-Meghan conspiracies about Harry being “unhappy” and “homesick.”
As for when Harry and Meghan might be in the UK next, put “next summer” onto your gossip calendars. The long-awaited “Diana statue” commissioned by Prince William and Prince Harry will be installed on the grounds of Kensington Palace next July. July 1st, what would have been Diana’s 60th birthday. William and Harry issued a joint statement about it, noting that they commissioned it on the twentieth anniversary of her death and that they hope “the statue will help all those who visit Kensington Palace to reflect on their mother’s life and her legacy.” This is the first joint-statement or joint anything between the brothers in months. I would imagine the statement was all filtered through staff, don’t you? And finally, if you want confirmation that Harry will come back to the UK at some point, Omid Scobie says as much:
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are ‘likely’ to spend an ‘extended period of time in the UK next year’ in order to attend Trooping the Colour and the unveiling of the new Princess Diana statue, their royal biographer has claimed. Omid Scobie, co-author of bombshell biography Finding Freedom, said the Duke, 35, and Duchess of Sussex, 39, had ‘many reasons to be based in the UK’ in the spring and summer of 2021.
Speaking on the Heirpod podcast, Omid said: ‘In March, we have the Invictus Games, which has been rescheduled, in the Hague. In June, we have Trooping the Colour, which I imagine Prince Harry and Meghan would like to still be at, and July 1, we have the unveiling of the [Princess Diana] statue.’
Speaking on the podcast, Omid revealed: ‘I would not be surprised if we saw the Sussexes spend an extended period of time in the UK next year…. There are many reasons for them to be based in the UK for that period, depending on whether travel will be back to normal.’
God, I hope that by next summer, a lot of this *waves hands around* is better. Who knows though. It might get interesting if Meghan does get pregnant again and the timing of all of that.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red and Backgrid.
I saw this little tidbit gave the media hope for some money because they are clearly in a drought and bored with the others. The fact they have to wait a almost a year for a sighting of their money makers will is hysterical.
😀😀😀 ikr, they discussed it at length this morning, making lies as usual about how it will bridge the gap between them(the supposedly gap top CEO was supposed to fix ), also whether they will use that chance to bring archie so he can meet his grandparents n cousins etc. And I bet we will get ridiculous titbit like these for days to come
Remember some Sussex fans were maybe fans of the couple individually or just got into royal watching because of them so don’t necessarily care for the monarchy& now dont like the royal family altogether because of the Sussexes’ treatment. Similar to hard core Diana fans (RIP) who dislike the Queen& Charles etc to this day so that’s why some may project that they won’t be around the royal family again.
But the p/t model they requested shows they still wanted to serve the Queen& keeping their patronages& Frogmore makes clear they will be spending time in England. If it wasn’t for Covid they would have been in Netherlands for Invictus & would probably have been at Beatrice’s wedding & maybe other royal adjacent events. It’s a no brainer.
The morning shows, tabloids& their body language experts are already wetting their lips about a potential fab 4 reunion at the Diana memorial. Kind of already over the hype- which unless the 4 are seen together before then- risks overshadowing what the day should be about because of how tacky the press are. I think there will be pressure for all kids to be seen too
Your last point, it’s clear there was pressure on the palace to give the media news because they were dropping hints about Rose etc. That media is already making stories up about a visit almost away. If that’s not desperation on both sides, then I don’t know what is. All of the media including television is losing money over there and they need the Sussexes badly because it’s clear they are seriously dependent on them.
It’s also worth pointing out that even after the p/t model was refused, they had indicated an intent to split their time between North America and the UK. The fact they kept Frogmore Cottage reinforces that further. No doubt the media will attempt to paint it as Harry being tired of the trappings of LA/California, rather than the couple having always intended to spend some time in the UK. Also the media should give up all pretense and admit that they miss the Sussexes.
Any children Harry and Meghan have are private citizens. They are not required to show their children to tabloids baying for blood.
You can be homesick for a place you lived for a very long time and still want to live where you live now. You can miss your family and still prefer living further away from them. These things are not mutually exclusive.
I think both Harry and Meghan wish things could have been different, I think they both wanted it to work there and it just didn’t.
I think that COVID could have either made the entire royal family realize “wow, life is short, I could be gone tomorrow, let’s be kind to one another.” But instead it seems as if they are out to prove why they don’t need Harry and Meghan and why they are better off without them. I think when Harry and Meghan return to the UK they will get the same frosty reception from the Royal family and courtiers as they got last time and will return to the US shaking their heads.
However, I also think that Harry misses the UK more than Meghan does, for obvious reasons (it was his home for most of his life.)
I’m sure Harry misses his patronages, rugby, soccer/football, SOME family and friends (although I’m equally sure he is quite happy to be an ocean away from some others).
But I also have no doubt that Harry is LOVING California, his new home and his new found freedom from the soul crushing life of being a member of The Firm and the British media.
He stated in that same Zoom call that he LOVES living in California. But I doubt the. British media will pay attention to that.
Meghan must be loving this new happy, excited for life Harry too. In the U.K. he was angry, tense, stressed and suffering the brutal betrayal of his family with all the pain that entails. He must be like a whole new man for her now, the man she initially met. I really hope they are both deliriously happy with each other and their life now.
Prince Harry is loving California. He has such a glow on his last zoom video. The Brit Tabloids are so bitter! Prince Harry has lived in LA before while in the military, and has a lot of friends in CA. A lot of them are Brit Expats! I don’t believe they will ever move back to that toxic island. They seem so happy, and free!
@jane I agree but I think they have realised how much they need the sussexes and whatever they are doing now is just pretending they r better off but deep down they are not . If not for anything at all I believe their cheerleaders have now told them how much they need they need news , leaks etc about the sussexes and without it all skeletons would be brought out. The desperation in both the media and their masters is clear and the only one who will loose is the royals . They know that
Of course they would have been back if it wasn’t for COVID. They have patronage’s they still work with and friends/ family in the U.K. I know some Sussex fans don’t ever want to see them in the U.K. again but that isn’t possible. Their main base will be California and they said they would split their time between U.S and the U.K.
The press conveniently forget that Harry said (in the same video) he was loving it in America and that it was fantastic . He isn’t some miserable hostage the press claim he is.
I think they definitely would have been back, and probably even gone back for Trooping and Bea’s wedding.
Exactly. They will definitely go back. I said a few weeks ago that I bet they go back for an extended trip each year, with a few smaller trips as necessary. What Finding Freedom made abundantly clear is that Harry and Meghan have no hard feelings towards Charles or the Queen. It was clear that they wish things had worked out differently, and hoped that the Queen sided with them in terms of being part-time royals, but there doesn’t seem to be any animosity there. As such, I expect they’ll go to Trooping each year, and spend some time with Charles in Scotland (which would get them away from many of the courtiers etc), and focus on their UK charities. My guess is that M will go once a year for an extended visit, and Harry will probably go a few times a year.
The idea that they would never ever go back to the UK was always odd to me because of course they are going back to the UK. They’re just not going to live there FT ever again (in my opinion.)
Exactly – they moved away, but they’re always going to go back for special events and stuff.
I can’t even imagine the rabid frothing at the mouth level of psychotic the British media will be at by the time Meghan and Harry step back into the U.K.
As much as they continue to scream that H&M are irrelevant, the U.K. media’s bank accounts and severe loss of ad revenue say otherwise. They will twist themselves into the most ridiculous justifications to continue their attacks on them. The latest being that every move they make might reflect badly on the rest of the royal family. PLEASE, they are the only thing keeping them relevant right now.
Harry is a patron of the London Marathon which was originally to be held in April so yeah, if it weren’t for COVID, he would have been back it in the UK already. Anyone who believed that Harry and Meghan were never going back to the UK is delusional. The whole reason for insisting on keeping Frogmore Cottage was so that they have a base in the UK when they do return. I think the bigger story was that Harry said he’s loving life in the US, that destroys the British media’s narrative that he’s been miserable since leaving the UK.
As for the statement about the Diana statue, I think the timing was strange. Why announce it a whole year in advance? And I don’t believe that this was a joint statement by William and Harry but a KP statement to reinsert William into the conversation as the last two weeks has only been about what Harry and Meghan are doing and saying.
Oh good reminder about the marathon which would have been in April and which is currently due to be in October instead. So yeah Harry would have been back for that then Invictus etc.
And I don’t believe it was a joint statement either especially as Sussexes said no royal house represents them. Think it was to give press something to talk about in the run up to anniversary of Diana passing today as the news of the ‘brothers reunion’ & ‘healing the feud’ was all over the front pages. But also there’s been a lot of focus on Harry’s work with the volunteering and his role in the Netflix documentary Rising Phoenix (so good) etc whilst royals have been quiet during their holidays so could be about shifting the focus too.
The Diana statue press release serves the same purpose as the “one year review”. It’s giving the media a claim on Harry’s time and something legitimate for them to bitch about for the next year. They’re practically already counting down the hours now, the obsession is real. I also think William did this to give the press something because they’re on his ass and he has zero information to give them about Harry’s life, neither personal not professional.
I’m sure if he insists to be back the Queen can arrange for it using a private plane or military plane evacuation if the concern is exposure to the public. There’s not much difference between the US and UK for Covid situation, so I’m a bit confused.
Also why wouldn’t he return to UK once in a while? He intended to shuffle between North America and UK, did he not? Correct me if I’m wrong. He’s still part of the royal family (even with zero titles) unless the Queen banishes him from the family legally.
I think their plans were only to return for specific events that they’re involved in
Invictus, London Marathon, etc…) And they probably would have spent a few weeks visiting Granny in Balmoral this month.
But with the pandemic it’s not worth going back until things clear up. Like I said in another post, I think this distance, this time away and the opportunity to set up their life exactly how they want it is a blessing.
What would have been the reason for going back to the UK during a pandemic? All the events that he was supposed to attend were cancelled or postponed so there is no need for him to go back right now. The London Marathon is now in October but it wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t return for that.
Yes exactly there’s no reason for him to be back since everything is on standstill, but if he really wanted to, he would be back. So the crazy RR who thinks he is being held hostage should back off (but of course they won’t).
I think the pandemic plays a role here – not because it would be impossible for him to travel – but because with everything on hold, the big reason (IMO) for him to return to the UK would be to see his dad and grandmother, and the Queen is pretty isolated right now, even in Balmoral, and his dad is doing events and such but is still 71, and Harry would probably need to quarantine for 2 weeks before seeing either of them, so that adds some time to the trip, then factor in that he might need to quarantine when returning home (I’m not sure what CA’s rules are) and I can see why its just easier to stay put in CA for right now.
My guess is that Harry is able to separate kingdom from family, meaning that he is still devoted to his English causes and wants to support them, but he and Meghan will never bring Archie to live in England again unless changes occur. If they can sort William and the RR, they would come back, at least for part of the year.
I don’t think it is possible to ‘sort William’ permanently. They’d be willing to do the half-in/half-out representing the Queen and Charles, as long as plans were made for them to walk away the second William is king (if that happens).
The Cambridge stans want Kate to be the “next Queen” and she and William bypass Charles. I think it’s because of Harry and Meghan and want William and Kate to try to boss Harry and Meghan around and threaten to take away their funding. I think that is the motive for all this excessive praise. It is amazing that Charles PR does not even attempt to contradict this.
I mean yeah of course Harry (and Meghan) would have been back in the UK. There were several events scheduled around the spring/summer that now didn’t happen due to the pandemic.
As for the statement, I don’t think it needed to be released a year early. It’s something that I think could have been released a month or 2 before the actual unveiling aka July/August 2021. Now the press gets to spend a whole year dreaming/writing up different scenarios – but that may have been the intention.
Someone said it was a statement from kp so baby wills can also be in the news . I bet the jealous man child didn’t like that harry and Meghan have been dominating the news for weeks so he had to do something to insert himself in. And what better way than to give his masters months of ridiculous narratives based on wishful thinking and lies, keeping them busy and happy
My bad! Not July/August but May/June (I accidentally read/thought the statue would be unveiled in September)
Them (mainly Meghan) never returning to the UK unfortunately is not realistic. The palace is mind numbingly stupid so I don’t expect it, but if they weren’t I think they’d at least require a short You Coulda Had A Bad Bitch Tour once a year with a few family events sprinkled in throughout the year. Maybe that in place of them being fully half in half out? Idk.
I wonder if the Yorks have been sniffing around getting Frogmore and this is to remind them it’s unavailable?
Another reason why they shouldn’t have been forced to pay back the renovations on a property they don’t own!
Not sure what you mean by “Yorks” but Fergie and Andrew have had a huge spread near Windsor for years. If you mean the daughters, they have seemed to be happily based in London (or New York City for their fake jobs) their adult lives. And I would imagine Charles would throw a huge fit if a property was taken from his son, especially if money has been paid for the renovations. Granny has plenty of properties to give out.
I agree generally with you Mumbles, but there was that weird story a week or two ago about where the York princesses were going to live and if the Queen was going to let Bea and Edo live in Nottingham cottage – I say weird because Edo already has a place in London, and I imagine its nicer than Nottingham Cottage, which sounds small and kind of cramped, even if it is part of the KP complex. Eugenie and Jack are in Ivy Cottage at KP and I wonder if they are looking for a bigger place. (no clue how big Ivy is.)
Becks1, she hid maternal cousins at KP for decades on the taxpayers money. Handed her cousin Margaret Rhodes Garden House at Windsor with no mention of any Crown Estate lease paid. I could see Andrew pushing for B&E to get Frogmore Cottage and/or GH at Windsor.
Eugenie and Jack have the questionable lease at Ivy Cottage (3-4 bedrooms). Expect Beatrice and Edo to get a similar questionable lease for either NottCott or Wren Cottage when the Duke of Kent is no longer with us.
There’s also the massive Apartment 1 space empty at KP, recently vacated by the Gloucesters. Although I wouldn’t be surprised if W&K quietly expanded their household into that space.
Not Frogmore, but I have it on fairly good authority that Beatrice & Edo will be moving into Nott Cottage (Prince Harry’s Kensington Palace residence) so she can play house with Eugenie & Jack who live close by in Ivy Cottage which is also at KP. Kensington Palace honestly sounds like hell to live at — all your family living practically on top of one another (I get its a big place, but still… nope)
People like to pretend Harry moved to another world, when he is just a flight away from London. I never got this sentiment that he would never be back. Of course he would be back! All he needs to do is to buy a ticket and visit his family, So far, everything they said they intend on doing they are doing- of course, with some adaptations due to circumstances, but so far all you need to do is read their statements and see what their plans are.
I don’t think there ever was a sentiment that he would never come back to visit. And obviously he has elderly grandparents and even his dad so at some point he would be coming back to attend funerals or any emergency involving them. I think the sentiment was that he will never come back and resume the royal life. I believe that is true at least for the foreseeable future. Now whether Meghan will come back is a toss up. I noticed he said “I would have been back” and not “we”.
He never going back meant: Never going back to SENIOR ROYAL STATUS.
I wonder why some seem so against H&M spending significant time in the UK. I thought it was always part of the plan as Harry is very British, obviously he’s a born British Prince. I thought it was crazy people thought Meghan wouldn’t want to spend significant time in the US too, even though she had lived in Canada for a while. Although, he might be upset with the media, the Firm, even parts of his family, I don’t think he will write off the whole country. They kept a fair amount of their UK charitable patronages too. I don’t think they would have if they didn’t think they would go back. I just figured they’d do what a lot of the wealthy do and go back and forth. Obviously, Covid prevented that but it will be left to be seen what they will do in the future. If Trump wins another term, I personally would leave if I had their resources. Also, I don’t doubt some will write how Harry misses the UK, and that is probably true to some extent. Still it doesn’t mean he wants to not live in California. He stated how much he loved his house too, and how great it was for Archie. I guess it’s just something else to gossip about, but I don’t think his reaction as presented even in the most dramatic of story is that odd. My husband had the same reaction leaving NYC. If we had the money we’d have bought a place in NYC and go there once a month just so he could get his NYC fix. Alas, we are not a Prince of Britain, so it’s not exactly feasible in my world.
I’m looking forward to Meghan’s wardrobe on her return. Her last events were so stunning it will be interesting to see what comes next. I can see them spending summers in UK when it is safe to travel with Archie.
God, I hate the DF and BM. The selective spin on a small part of the RFL Zoom video is laughable. When asked about how he felt about living in America, Harry couldn’t say fast enough that he loved it, how appreciative he is to live in this home with outdoor space for “our little man” to enjoy, that Archie is their first priority and their work second after that. His comment about going back to the UK if not for COVID, taken in context, seemed clearly (to me, anyway) to refer to participating in events and patronages. Like RFL. He didn’t sound nostalgic for Britain at all.
I wonder if they will get pregnant again sometime this year, would they choose to have their second child born in the UK or the US? I could see it going either way honestly. I also think it would make sense for Meghan to commit to spending a significant portion of time in the UK if she’s planned on giving birth there. I wonder how it would be on the second go round for her knowing how more control she hasn’t in her life and the autonomy of working outside the BRF. I would love for her to have a smooth sailing pregnancy where she is blissed out and not a single viper can distract her from the joys of motherhood. Perhaps that’s wishful thinking since British press will British press. I guess I am mostly interested to see if there’s a chance that a member of the RF in the line of succession will choose to have their heir born outside of the UK. The British press would have a field day!
There is no way in hell Meghan would EVER give birth in the U.K. again. They made her first pregnancy a living hell. I’m sure she and Harry were terrified for her safety during the birth which is why they kept the location secret. The press tried to dig up and expose her hospital records!! They demanded she trot out Archie hours after he was born.
Why on earth would she put herself through that hell scape again!!!!???
No, trust me, the next time we hear about a new baby will be AFTER it is born.
Prince Harry is loving California. He has such a glow on his last zoom video. The Brit Tabloids are so bitter! Prince Harry has lived in LA before while in the military, and has a lot of friends in CA. A lot of them are Brit Expats! I don’t believe they will ever move back to that toxic island. They seem so happy, and free!
Plenty of people in lines of succession are born outside ‘their’ countries. Sweden and Lux royals spring to mind. There’s no legal reason why she’d have to give birth in the UK. Given how the press treated her the first go round, and how they are not letting up on their attacks now? I see them spending minimal time in the UK, and certainly not planning on living there for months prior to her giving birth.
I don’t believe her second child will be born in the UK! It will be more peaceful in America, also the Brit Press will not have any access to the baby birth certificate. In America, it is not public record! The Brit Tabloids will go through a meltdown, and remind their racist readers that Meghan is still part of the RF, but we won;t care. The baby will be our American Prince ha ha ha
The BM are determined in the narrative they wish to convey despite what either Harry or Meghan say. Harry and Meghan have not changed any of their sentiments since stepping down as full time working royals. They said they would split their time, but COVID put a stop to that, so they have remained in North America w/o going back and forth. All the events that were scheduled have been postponed so… Still the media MUST write their fan fiction and nothing like truth will stand in the way of that.
I Think the joint statement was issued by William and his people alone Harry and Meghan made it completely clearly that no one in the royal family speaks for them or on their behalf . I think that William is worried after that article by Tom was released Rose name was mentioned once and within two weeks there all suddenly a statement by Kensington Palace saying that prince Harry will be back in the U.K A year from now And Now all those royal reporters are getting themselves in a Tizzy as thought of seeing Meghan and Harry in the U.K and now we have the usually royal reporters spinning stories about how Harry will return and decided to stay . Kensington Palace has once again put a media target on the Sussex’s again so William will be left alone .
Let’s hope that there’s not another pandemic surge this winter. Also, when they do go back, they can be as public or private as they want since they are no longer official. They don’t have to deal with the rota or even t HT e courtiers, except to check schedules with the others for unofficial meetings. It won’t be anything like their last official visit. I suspect they there will be a media frenzy starting this fall about Christmas and pressure on them for that, but again, depends on the pandemic. Harry was also being asked questions by one of the rugby guys and he said he was loving California life, but needed little rugby balls for Archie. Is it much different from a US football 🏈?
I think Harry’s ultimate goal when it comes to his family is that he just wants to interact with them JUST as family and not as a PR or business asset for The Firm. No press, no official schedules, nothing on the public calendar. Just cousin, son, grandson or Uncle Harry visiting family.
I have no doubt that they will go back to the UK for events – specifically ones involving the Queen like Trooping the Colour. But I do not see them living in the UK ever again. If that were the case I don’t think they would have invested as much money as they have in buying a home in California.
The Sussexes will come back for Trooping, the queen’s funeral, Philip’s funeral and Charles’ coronation. William’s POW investiture and ascension is a toss up. Funny the BM was pushing Harry to come back w/o Meghan and Archie but I guess the Montecito joint purchase shot down that hope.
I don’t know why people assumed when they left they weren’t coming back. Harry and Meghan have charities and commitments in England. They would have given them up if they wanted nothing to do with England anymore.
I don’t think most people here thought they would NEVER return to the UK, ever. What most felt and still do is that they’ll never live there for any substantial period of time. I see them showing up for big events that’s important to Elizabeth, to Britain and also their patronages. Meghan and Archie in particular cannot be expected to become sitting ducks again for the media and courtiers, not to mention jealous family members.
Will Meghan and Archie go with him. I hope so.
I agree that Meghan and Archie cannot be sitting ducks when they return to the UK. That is the reason the Sussex family cut out the British news outlets-the statement made by Harry and Meghan that noone in the British press or Royal family speaks for us-so anything written or released by these two businesses should be taken with a grain of salt. Harry truly feels that something or someone caused his mother’s death-he may not say it to your face-but there’s this feeling I have when he talks about his mother.