Residents in the Cotswolds town of Tetbury, situated next to King Charles' Highgrove House, have offered Prince Harry and Meghan Markle a surprisingly warm welcome back to the UK, despite some reservations about the couple's return.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are reported to be considering a new UK home in the region, renowned as one of Britain's most beautiful. While locals in Moreton-in-Marsh, some 35 miles further north, were unimpressed with the idea, a more positive outlook was noticeable in Tetbury, perhaps due to Harry's childhood connections to Highgrove.
Local Support for the Sussexes
At a bus stop in the town, Rosemary McCoy, 69, a retired shop assistant who has lived in the area for 20 years, said: "They've got to have somewhere to live. Somewhere more private for a more peaceful life. It doesn't bother me if they want to come and live here."
"Harry's been through a rough time," Ms McCoy added. "He's got feelings. People don't understand that he's been through a really bad time. They don't give him consideration." She also expressed sympathy for Meghan, noting she "couldn't adjust to royal life" and "found it really hard being a celebrity" in the Firm.
"Catherine had 11 years to adjust to it, but Meghan was thrown in at the deep end," Ms McCoy said.
Mixed Reactions from Business Owners
Michelle O'Reilly, 63, who lives in nearby Malmesbury and works at Tetbury's Kneads bakery, said: "I say welcome home, Harry... I like them." Referring to the Sussexes' conduct since stepping down as working members of the Firm, she added: "I always think there's no smoke without fire, but there's also a lot of rudeness, isn't there? Take a pinch of salt… I certainly look forward to supplying them with sour dough, Bakewell tarts and our award-winning lemon meringues."
Colleague Lilly James, 23, who has lived in Tetbury for two-and-a-half years, said: "I think they're lovely. Out of everyone in the Royal Family, they are probably the most down to earth. They seem like they are more aware of what's going on in the world instead of sitting on a throne nodding their head."
Nevertheless, she fears the impact Harry and Meghan's arrival could have on tourism, emphasising that visitors are good for business but "nightmare" traffic and "crazy" numbers of people can make it "difficult for the local people who actually live here to do what they need to do and get where they need to go".
Family Ties and Criticism
Jo Bartlett, 55, a retired legal advisor from Highworth, about 20 miles away, said: "Personally, I think it's quite nice they're back, especially for Charles. They're all family, we're all family, aren't we? We wouldn't want to be separated. We've always liked Harry, haven't we?" But she added that he should not have published his memoir Spare, which contained damaging allegations regarding the royals. "Family things should be private," Ms Bartlett said.
Rachel Scholes, 57, an administrator, said the controversy has been "horrible" and the Sussexes returning is a "good thing".
David Rees, 71, a retired teacher originally from south Wales who has lived in Tetbury for three years, said: "It's fine as far as I'm concerned, Harry is coming back to his roots." On the prince firing shots at the Firm from across the Atlantic, he added: "I have mixed emotions about it. He had a tough upbringing; things didn't go right. I don't think he's the brightest. He made decisions I wouldn't have made but it is a tough situation to be in. If he comes back to this area it can't do any harm."
Concerns Over Security and Conduct
Paul Walker, 58, a stonemason who has lived in the town for nine years, said: "I'm getting a bit bored of it now. It doesn't bother me in any way really, as long as they're not in anyone's face again like they were before." Mr Walker reckons the Sussexes "went too far" in their conflict with the rest of the Royal Family. "The whole thing could have been handled a lot better," he added, suggesting Harry and Meghan "could have done things" to stay as working royals "rather than putting it across the world's media". He thinks the taxpayer will end up having to fork out for their security.
Not everyone was so keen on the return. An 84-year-old woman who lives near Tetbury, who did not wish to give her name, said: "I'm not a fan. I think it's disgraceful the way he rubbished his family and the Americans, of course, are fed up with him, aren't they? That's why they're back here… I think they're bad news."
A 76-year-old man who has lived in Tetbury nearly all his life said: "I think Meghan is domineering over Harry; that's my opinion. She's taking what she can get." He called the royal split a "shame". "There's always something with the Royal Family; they're not perfect. They're just human; there are bound to be fallings out. Charles wants them to all get on, obviously." He suggested that the King could end up paying for his second son's security, adding that it "might have been better if they stayed in America". "The Royal Family is a good thing," the pensioner said. "I like it; we've got to have it."
Pam Nield, 74, a retired John Lewis worker who lives in Macclesfield and is in the Cotswolds for three days with her husband, called the Sussexes an "embarrassment", adding: "We are struggling as much as it is in this country without paying for their security. How can they trust them? I don't agree with it. I quite like the Royal Family but he disgraced himself and she did as well. The King, he's a bit softer for want of a better word. William... I don't think he's as forgiving as Charles."
American tourists Sandra and Brendan McLaughlin, 76 and 68, from Florida, are in the UK for a week and have never been to the Cotswolds before. Ms McLaughlin, who worked in non-profit fundraising, said: "I liked her in that show, Suits. She's a pretty good actress. I don't have the emotional connection to royalty that ya'll do. They should live wherever they want to." Mr McLaughlin, who anchored the evening news for Tampa's ABC Television affiliate for 21 years, said: "I'm rather indifferent. They seem to be really good at being famous, but not really any good at podcasting or film production or anything else."
