Nearly nine months ago, when I first learned the striking name and alleged details of an Establishment-backed effort to bring Prince Harry and Meghan back into the British fold while weakening the standing of the Prince and Princess of Wales, I was taken aback by the sheer audacity of the California-based pair.
The plan was reportedly dubbed “Project Thaw” — a name that reflected its central purpose: to ease the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s icy relations with both the Royal Family and the British public. Those ties had been under deep strain since the couple stepped back from royal duties, relocated to North America, and made a series of high-profile criticisms of the monarchy, including their Oprah Winfrey interview, Harry’s memoir Spare, and their Netflix series Harry & Meghan.
Now, with the couple due to arrive in Britain in less than two weeks with their children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, some may be tempted to conclude that Project Thaw has achieved its aim.
The visit would mark Meghan’s first stay in the UK since Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September 2022. It would also be the first time in an even longer period that Archie and Lilibet have been in the country, their last visit coming in June 2022 for the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Adding to the significance of the trip, the Sussex family have reportedly been offered accommodation at a royal residence next month, while King Charles is expected to see them. The King previously met Harry for tea at Clarence House during the duke’s visit for several engagements in September 2025, a meeting that marked the first face-to-face encounter between father and son in 19 months.
At the heart of Harry and Meghan’s need for support from influential figures in government and royal circles was the issue of security. After stepping away from royal life and moving abroad, they no longer had an automatic entitlement to taxpayer-funded police protection in the UK.
That decision angered Harry, who pursued legal action against the Home Office but was unsuccessful. After losing a further legal challenge over the matter in May last year, he gave an interview to the BBC in which he said he was “devastated” and stated emotionally: “I can’t see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK at this point.”
Despite that earlier declaration, Harry now appears to have been reassured by the security arrangements put in place for next month’s visit.
When Prince Harry and Meghan arrive in Britain in less than a fortnight’s time it may appear that Project Thaw has been successful, writes Richard Eden
The Sussexes have been offered accommodation next month at a royal residence and King Charles is expected to meet them
But while all these developments might suggest success for Project Thaw, there are two important ways in which it has failed to achieve its aims.
Firstly, while the King will, no doubt, want to see his grandchildren (in Lily’s case, for only the second time in her life), there is no change in the icy relations between Harry and his brother, Prince William, I hear.
‘It’s a subject that’s not even discussed anymore,’ a friend of William and Catherine told me. ‘He made clear some time ago that he didn’t want anything to do with his brother, and that hasn’t changed, as far as I know.’
The friend added: ‘I doubt anyone knows what his views are on his father seeing Harry and Meghan, because he doesn’t talk about it.’
Just like the King’s dealings with his disgraced brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, William is happy to leave the ‘Harry problem’ to his father.
The second way in which Project Thaw has failed, so far at least, is in its aim of ‘warming up’ the Sussexes’ relationship with the British people. I detect no more enthusiasm for the couple than there was last October. And that’s hardly a surprise when they have failed to apologise for their insults to the rest of the Royal Family.
When I revealed the existence of Project Thaw back in October, a friend of the Sussexes told me: ‘Meghan will return to Britain before the year is out.’ The friend added, jokingly, that she would be ‘bearing humble pie’.
In the event, it has taken longer for the former actress to return. And if she does bear that humble pie – and eat it – will her performance be enough to win her a second act with the British people?
Personally, I doubt it.
