Mock the Week panellists have taken aim at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's return to the UK, with jokes about their Netflix documentary and their efforts to stay anonymous. The couple, who stepped down as senior royals in 2020 and moved to the US, returned to Britain in August and are now said to be living in the Cotswolds with their children, seven-year-old Archie and five-year-old Lilibet.
Jokes about the couple's comeback
In a preview from the forthcoming episode, which is due to broadcast on TLC this Sunday (October 4), host Dara Ó Briain asks: "So, why has Meghan Markle been in the news recently?" Panellist Janine Harouni declares: "They're back!" before Dara responds: "They are, yes, they are back."
Glenn Moore then jokes: "They couldn't have had a more hostile welcome if they'd come over in a dinghy." Ed Byrne adds: "Nothing says a fresh start like returning to the country that you made a whole Netflix documentary about escaping from."
Attempts to stay anonymous
Glenn observes: "They're trying to stay anonymous though," before joking: "They're driving round the Cotswolds in a Fuel2U van."
The jokes come just days after the Duke of Sussex said it feels "great" to be back in Britain after six years in California. He told Canadian broadcaster CTV: "It's been great. It's been great to be back on British soil. The kids are happy in school and it gives me a chance to be able to really focus on the Invictus Games in Birmingham in July next year."
First public appearance and security concerns
The couple have also been spotted during their first public appearance since returning, heading for dinner at a Cotswolds pub. A pub insider told The Sun: "Everyone here gets the royal treatment - it doesn't matter who you are. We're lucky to get lots of different people visiting us, and everyone is treated like a local. When they visited, Harry and Meghan just acted like locals."
Security has remained a source of friction, with recent measures facing fresh examination following a paparazzi incident close to the school where Archie and Lilibet are pupils. International photographers were caught loitering outside the school gates, just weeks after Harry and Meghan moved their children to a different school due to security worries.
A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said: "The decision by photographers to conduct themselves in this way around a school is extraordinarily reckless. There is a world of difference between legitimate media activity and photographers walking the perimeter of a school, stopping to look into the grounds and monitoring children as they go about their day." Mock the Week is available to stream on Discovery+.
