Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may be settling back into life in the UK, but relations with their in-laws appear to be no closer to improving, with Kate Middleton reportedly having described their exit from royal duties as “inevitable”.
Sussexes' Return to Britain
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped down from their roles as senior working royals in 2020 and moved to Montecito, California. Six years later, the couple have made a U-turn and returned to Britain with their two children, Archie and Lilibet.
Harry and Meghan have set up home in a non-royal residence outside London, and Archie and Lilibet are now enrolled in their second school in just a few weeks following concerns from the couple's security team. The children's first school was deemed a risk by the family's security over heavy traffic on the school run, prompting the transfer.
School Drop-Off Commotion
Meghan and Harry are believed to have been added to class WhatsApp groups for both children but are said to have left parents shocked when they arrived to drop Archie and Lilibet off in a convoy of cars with blacked-out windows.
One parent told Hello! magazine: “The parents’ WhatsApp groups have been buzzing. It's all been very sudden and lots of people are talking about it. On the main class group one of the parents wrote, ‘Please welcome Meghan and Archie to the group'. The school is very academic with a lovely, close-knit village feel. All the parents talk to each other, so as long as they are friendly, they'll fit right in.”
Another added: “It's all caused quite a commotion since the news filtered through. This is a small community school and we are not used to anything like it and certainly not famous parents rocking up in blacked out cars to drop their children off. Once the excitement dampens down for some, I am sure they (Harry and Meghan) will be invited to school events like any other parent. It's a wonderful atmosphere here and I hope they will want to get involved in everything from school fundraisers to cheering on all our sports teams.”
Strained Family Relations
Meghan shared a social media post last weekend, highlighting what the family have been up to since their return, including walks in the woods, Harry fishing on a pond with her children, and Lilibet riding her bike while Archie ran alongside.
However, it does not appear the couple have built bridges with Prince William and Kate Middleton. The two couples initially seemed close at the start of Harry's relationship with Meghan, even being dubbed the Fab Four at a joint public event. But tensions began to mount, with William said to have felt Harry was becoming “paranoid” according to the biography, William and Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story by Mirror royal editor Russell Myers.
Kate had previously always been the voice of reason between the squabbling royal brothers, but by the time Harry and Meghan made the decision to step back, the Princess of Wales is said to have shown less interest than her husband in persuading them to stay, describing their exit as “inevitable”, says the book. Having witnessed the deterioration in the relationship, Kate decided she “could do no more to bring the brothers together”. According to the book, she also regarded the Sussexes as “not to be trusted” following their controversial Oprah Winfrey interview.
A source told Myers: “The whole situation with the Sussexes was just very sad and just as Philip had a degree of empathy and understanding with Catherine for coming from outside the family at the beginning, I would say Catherine had that for Meghan as well, at least at the start and she did do a lot to help her integrate into the family in the beginning. But Meghan simply acted like she didn't need or want her help, it was very matter of fact and you could say she just dismissed her, which hurt Catherine. There was a lot of sadness there, but that being said, she was very clear that any engagement with Harry or Meghan should be with the utmost of caution because it was obvious that they weren't to be trusted.”
