Meghan Markle will be the driving force behind her return to the UK with Prince Harry, a former pal has revealed. The Sussexes are planning to return to the UK six years after announcing they would step back as senior royals and move to California in the US.
Meghan and Harry are planning to leave the US later this month and move to a private, non-royal residence outside of London. They are looking to send Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, to a British school in September. The move has come as a surprise, with Harry's father, King Charles, said to have been told of their plan only at the weekend.
Former Friend's Account of Harry's Transformation
A former pal who knew Harry before he met Meghan hinted that she would be the one who made the decision to move back to the UK. Speaking to the Express, they revealed that Harry had "changed so much" from when he knew him to when he met Meghan, adding that he leaned on Meghan to take charge as he was "playing a role that she has created for him."
They said: "He's not the Harry I knew back in the day, far from it. He's managed by Meghan now, and what she says goes."
"I think when you lose a parent early in life, you may look to have a mother figure, and I think she has given him that. It seems that she has created this narrative in his head that it is them against the world, and he wants to do anything to keep her happy."
"He is a puppet managed by an older, controlling woman, who knows her own mind, and knows what she wants."
Strained Relationships and Strategic Move
The couple's move to the UK could be turbulent, with the insider adding that Harry had cut off many people in his life when he moved to the US. With his relationship with King Charles and Prince William also remaining tense, he could struggle to find allies on this side of the pond.
They said: "It's sad because he doesn't contact many of his friends in the UK anymore, and I think it is because they remind him of what he used to be like, entitled and a bit buffoonish, and he and Meghan don't want to associate with that. But they were true friends to him, his real inner circle."
Meghan and Harry's bombshell move back to the UK is said to be strategic, with reports claiming that the couple's dreams of making money in the US fell flat. The pair are said to see their return to the UK as a fresh start, with Meghan hoping to win back the public and potentially make a non-formal return to the royals.
A source close to the couple said: "Meghan knows that she, in particular, will have to eat humble pie if she wants any chance of winning Harry's family and the public over, and she is ready to admit she needs the help."
"This will be her time to show she is capable of not being in the spotlight, and this will be Harry's time to shine. They both feel they were given poor advice when they first left the Royal Family, and they would love a second chance to make amends."
