Public support for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle returning to the UK appears limited, with a new YouGov survey suggesting fewer than one in four Britons think the couple should settle back in Britain.
The findings come after reports emerged last night that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are preparing to relocate to Harry’s home country before the month is out.
Harry and Meghan are said to be planning an “extended” stay in the UK, with their children, seven-year-old Archie and five-year-old Lilibet, reportedly already registered at a British school. Where the family will be based during the move has not yet been confirmed.
The reported return would mark a striking shift six years after Harry, 41, and Meghan, 45, stepped away from their roles as senior working royals during the royal crisis widely known as “Megxit.”
Since then, Prince Harry’s relationship with the royal family has deteriorated sharply, particularly with Prince William, following a series of public allegations directed at the 44-year-old Prince of Wales, King Charles and Queen Camilla.
The prospect of a Sussex move back to Britain has therefore reignited fierce debate among royal watchers and the wider public, although insiders maintain that rejoining the working royal family is not part of the couple’s plans.
According to the YouGov poll, which questioned more than 5,000 people across different age groups, only 21 per cent said Harry and Meghan “should” return to the UK, while 33 per cent said they “should not.”
Support was similarly muted among older respondents, with the survey showing that just 20 per cent of those aged 65 and over believe the Duke and Duchess of Sussex should relocate to Britain.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, are moving back the United Kingdom six years after they left for the US (pictured in 2024)
Harry is pictured last night in Washington just hours after news of his return to Britain was made public
A staggering 47 per cent of Britons aged over 65 meanwhile said that Harry and Meghan should not return. That figure compared with the 24 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds of the same opinion.
The largest proportion (45 per cent) of Britons, however, said they were unsure whether the Sussexes should move back to Harry’s home country.
The couple are understood to be living in a non-royal residence, and the King has made clear that there will be ‘no alteration’ to their status as private individuals.
Just hours after news of his British return was made public, Harry was pictured beaming at a roundtable event in Washington on Wednesday night.
The duke had already been scheduled to visit England to attend a WellChild Awards event next month and was set to stay in a room at Buckingham Palace.
Harry last visited in July, when he and Meghan were invited to see the King at his Highgrove home in Gloucestershire. It marked the first time in four years that Charles had spent time with Archie and Lilibet.
The duke is indeed thought to have missed living in the UK, and it has even been speculated that he is ‘desperate’ for the two children to experience life in his home country.
But he and Meghan have faced falling approval ratings ever since their exit, which came in acrimonious circumstances amid a series of barbs directed towards the royal family.
A YouGov poll found last month that just 22 per cent of Britons see Meghan in a positive light, compared with 65 per cent who hold an unfavourable opinion of the former actress, with 33 per cent seeing Harry positively and 58 per cent negatively.
The King, who is still living with cancer, was first made aware of their move on Sunday, only three days before it was made public, but is understood to welcome the opportunity to see more of the family both in a private and personal capacity.
But their status will remain the same, with the couple not being offered a ‘half-in-half-out’ option when it comes to their roles.
King Charles is said to ‘welcome’ Harry’s decision to relocate home (The pair are pictured together in 2022)
The Sussexes’ decision raises the question of how the news will be met by the Prince and Princess of Wales.
William – a future king – is estranged from his brother after Harry levelled accusations against the prince and Kate in his 2023 memoir, Spare.
The Sussexes will retain their homes in Montecito and Portugal, while the duchess will continue to run As Ever from their new base.
Harry and former Suits star Meghan, who married at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in May 2018, were once dubbed part of the ‘Fab Four’ with the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
But in March 2019, Buckingham Palace announced Harry and Meghan would set up their own household, breaking from the joint operation they had with William and Kate, amid media reports of rifts between the two couples.
In January 2020, the duke and duchess announced they intended to step back as ‘senior’ members of the royal family, become financially independent, still support Elizabeth II, but split their time between the UK and North America.
By March 2020, they had set up a permanent home in California, officially stepped down as senior royals and stopped using their HRH styles.
It was claimed earlier this year that Palace staff had given Meghan the nickname ‘Duchess Difficult’ during her time living in Britain. The American was accused of bullying and, on certain occasions, even making staff cry.
It was said that workers were left ‘in a psychologically delicate state’ and ‘viewed her capacity for revenge as infinite’, an expert has alleged.
Meghan vehemently denied the allegations and described their release as an orchestrated smear campaign against her.
The bullying story was first reported in March 2021, just before Harry and Meghan were to appear on screen with Oprah Winfrey to discuss Megxit.
A spokesman for the duke and duchess has been contacted for comment today.
