The Duke and Duchess of Sussex reportedly landed in the UK on Wednesday to begin the next chapter of their lives back in Harry’s home country, six years after relocating to the United States.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, along with their children Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, are said to have arrived at Birmingham Airport around lunchtime, just one week after their move back to the UK was announced.
Return to the UK after six years in California
Harry and Meghan stepped down from royal duties in 2020 and moved to California with eight-month-old Archie in pursuit of personal and financial freedom from the Royal Family. A year after their departure, they began making a series of accusations against the institution.
In 2021, the couple gave their first interview since leaving royal roles to Oprah Winfrey, during which they claimed a senior member of the Firm had raised concerns about Archie’s skin colour before his birth. Further allegations followed in their 2022 Netflix docuseries and in Harry’s 2023 memoir, Spare.
Favourability ratings remain low
These claims have weighed on the couple’s popularity. The most recent YouGov poll tracking favourability of each member of the Royal Family placed Harry and Meghan at 33 percent and 22 percent respectively, with their ratings having remained low for the past six years.
The poll, conducted in July, showed Meghan’s rating largely unchanged, while Harry’s saw a small increase from the previous survey. His popularity may have been bolstered by his reunion with King Charles at Highgrove, which took place during a visit to the UK to promote the one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham. The meeting was also attended by Meghan and the children, marking the first time the King had seen his grandchildren since 2022.
What lies ahead for the Sussexes
While Harry and Meghan will not resume royal work, questions remain about their future projects. Harry is expected to focus on his charity work, particularly the Invictus Games, while rumours suggest Meghan is considering a return to acting, reportedly ‘in talks’ for a role in the Netflix series The Gentlemen.
PR expert Mayah Riaz told the Mirror that the couple could rehabilitate their image in the UK if they make significant changes to their day-to-day work and stop levelling accusations against the Royal Family.
“I believe they can, but I’d say that it would require a very different PR strategy from the one we have seen from them in recent years,” Riaz said. “The biggest opportunity for Harry and Meghan is to not try to convince us to love them again, but giving us a reason to feel neutral or positive about them.”
She added: “They probably cannot PR their way back into being universally popular, and I don’t think that should be the objective. What they can do is gradually rebuild goodwill through consistency, restraint and work that feels meaningful rather than heavily managed.”
Riaz also suggested that the Sussexes may find a more powerful approach by “stop explaining yourself and simply let your actions do the talking.”
Describing the public mood, Riaz said: “I think it is a mixture of anger, fatigue and indifference, and from a PR perspective that is actually more complicated than outright dislike.” She noted that while some remain emotionally invested in the couple, there is a growing sense of fatigue. “The biggest danger for Harry and Meghan now is not necessarily being disliked. It is becoming irrelevant.”
