Harry and Meghan’s UK Return Draws Trump’s Attention as Ties Between Harry and Britain Come Under the Spotlight

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s return to Britain has prompted renewed discussion about the Duke of Sussex’s relationship with his home country, with President Donald Trump making clear that he has little sympathy for the couple’s past treatment of the Royal Family.

Trump has said he is pleased that Harry and Meghan have returned to the UK after years in the United States, although he remains critical of Meghan and has described the couple’s conduct toward the Royal Family as disrespectful.

For people who know Harry personally, however, the move is being viewed through a different lens.

Harry never stopped loving Britain, friend says

Alex Rayner, who accompanied Harry on a charity trek to the North Pole in 2011 and has remained in regular contact with him, suggested that the Duke’s connection to Britain never disappeared.

“What is absolutely crucial is that Harry never fell out of love with Britain – he fell out of love with the circumstances he found himself living in, and those are very different things,” Rayner told the Daily Mail.

That distinction is central to how some of Harry’s friends see his decision to rebuild a closer relationship with Britain.

The change in direction has also been linked to a growing sense among some people close to the Sussexes that life in America may not have turned out quite as they once expected.

Others have described “an increasing and significant shift in sentiment,” with a growing feeling that the American dream may not have been all it was expected to be.

And, according to one friend, the desire to reconnect with Britain does not come from Harry alone.

“This is coming from Meghan as well as from him,” the friend told the Daily Mail. “I hear that Meghan is all for rekindling with and reconnecting with Harry’s English side. She is fully behind it.”

The Sussexes’ return does not mean they are resuming official royal duties. They stepped back as working royals in 2020 and have remained private members of the Royal Family. Recent reports have nevertheless pointed to a longer-term British base for the family and renewed contact with Harry’s relatives.

Trump and King Charles have maintained a warm relationship

Trump’s comments about Harry and Meghan stand in sharp contrast to the relationship he has cultivated with King Charles.

The president and the King have appeared notably cordial in public, most recently during Charles and Queen Camilla’s state visit to Washington in April 2026.

Trump and First Lady Melania Trump hosted the royal couple at the White House for a state dinner on April 28, marking the first state visit by a British monarch in nearly two decades and coinciding with America’s 250th anniversary celebrations.

The evening offered plenty of opportunities for the two men to highlight the long history shared by Britain and the United States.

Charles joked about the countries’ complicated past, describing the occasion as “a very considerable improvement on the Boston Tea Party.”

He also referred humorously to the changes Trump had made to the White House, including the removal of the East Wing.

“I’m sorry to say that we British, of course, made our own small attempt at real estate redevelopment of the White House in 1814,” Charles said, referring to the British attack on Washington during the War of 1812.

The lighthearted exchange reflected the unusually personal tone of the evening, even as the state dinner carried broader diplomatic significance for the two countries. The White House described the visit as a celebration of the enduring cultural, historical and strategic partnership between the United States and the United Kingdom.

Trump has also praised the late Queen Elizabeth II

Trump’s affection for the British monarchy predates his relationship with King Charles.

He previously spoke warmly about his relationship with the late Queen Elizabeth II, describing it as “incredible.”

His admiration for the late Queen has also featured prominently in his comments about Harry and Meghan. In discussing their return to Britain, Trump has contrasted his own relationship with the Royal Family with his view of the Sussexes’ treatment of it.

For Harry, meanwhile, the move back toward Britain represents a striking change after years spent building a life in California.

The people around him who believe he never stopped loving Britain see the return as less a reversal of his past decisions than a renewed connection with the country, family and part of his identity that he never completely left behind.