What We Know — and Don’t Know — About Harry and Meghan’s Return to the U.K.
In a move that has shocked the world, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have left California and moved back to the U.K.
They will keep their homes in California and Portugal, The Hollywood Reporter understands, and aim to stay across the pond for an undisclosed period of time. A person with knowledge of their plans told THR the couple had “such a wonderful trip” overseas this summer — during which they spent time with the King at his royal residence, Highgrove, as well as the family of Harry’s mother, Diana — that they decided to extend their stay. Related Stories Business Trump's Federal Film Tax Incentive Plan Prompts Canada's Actors to Call on Ottawa to Follow Suit Movies Zeze Takahisa's 'Sukiyaki' to Open Tokyo Film Festival
The pair landed last week with their children, 7-year-old Prince Archie and 5-year-old Princess Lilibet, and two dogs, Mia and Pula, according to the BBC . The family is said to be based in the Cotswolds, in a house “without royal trappings,” and has arrived just in time for Archie and Lilibet to enroll in schools for the start of the autumn term. (Note: They haven’t yet shared which schools, though their cousins, Prince Charlotte and Prince Louis, are at Lambrook in Berkshire, with heir to the throne Prince George just about to start at the prestigious Eton College this month.)
It is unlikely that, as the saying goes, time has healed all wounds. So what are we to expect, and will the infamously vicious British press finally give the Sussexes some respite?
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle confirmed they’d be “stepping back” as senior members of the royal family nearly seven years ago, in January 2020. What followed were bombshell revelations in an interview with Oprah Winfrey and Netflix’s Harry & Meghan documentary about Markle’s treatment behind closed doors, as well as the malicious onslaught of press coverage that drove the former actress to suicidal thoughts before she and Harry fled to relative privacy in Montecito.
The tabloids had not welcomed her with open arms. Much of this can be traced back to what Harry described as the press’s deep-rooted racism — Markle was said to be “fuelling human rights abuses, drought and murder” by eating avocados, accused of “putting Princess Charlotte’s life at risk” by having a potentially toxic flower in her wedding bouquet, and slammed as “a nightmare” for an “awkward faux-pas” at Wimbledon (because she was wearing jeans). Combine that with the now-famous headline “Harry’s New Girl (Almost) Straight Outta Compton” and Markle’s statement that members of the royal household had “ concerns about how dark [Archie’s] skin might be when he’s born,” and you’re left with some damning evidence that Markle was treated differently by both the media and the Crown itself.
In Harry & Meghan , the Duke tells the cameras that the Palace believed the enduring hostility and media attention were a rite of passage when you join the world’s most famous family.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on www.hollywoodreporter.com — the content belongs to The Hollywood Reporter.