They received a frosty reception from the public and royals alike when they last landed on UK soil to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June.
But just two months on, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have revealed they’re set to return for a second time, with a spokesperson for the couple – who stepped down as senior royals in January 2020 – announcing last week, “Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are delighted to visit with several charities close to their hearts in early September.”
It’s believed Harry, 37, and Meghan, 40, will stay at their former home, Frogmore Cottage, after renewing the lease on the property in Windsor earlier this year. And while critics have warned the couple will be entering a “lion’s den” after recent YouGov polls revealed the extent of their dwindling popularity with the public, their return has sent the biggest message yet that their long-standing feud with the royals is still very much on.
Their visit comes just days after Harry’s brother, Prince William, and his wife, Kate Middleton, both 40, are reported to be relocating to Adelaide Cottage – less than a mile from the Sussexes’ at Frogmore – to be closer to the Queen.
However, reports have suggested that despite presumptions that the warring royals could finally meet and make amends, Harry and Meghan are said to have “no plans” to visit William and Kate – a shock move that a source tells Closer has upset Kate.
The insider reveals, “Kate had been tentatively looking forward to meeting up with Meghan when she and Harry came to England. She wanted to be the bigger person and extend that olive branch, because she feels all this ugliness of ignoring one another has gone on for long enough.”
Harry’s 38th birthday also falls just 10 days later on 15 September and the source says Kate, who Harry once described as “the sister I never had” and was previously very close to her eldest son, eight-year-old Prince George (Kate and William also share Princess Charlotte, seven, and Prince Louis, four), had hoped an exchange of gifts and birthday wishes could help to ease the bleak atmosphere.
The insider adds, “Kate wanted to try to meet Meghan mainly for the sake of William and Harry. It’s Harry’s birthday soon, and she wanted to maybe make that a way of getting them all together and giving gifts.
“She knows that patching things up and ending the bad blood would be better for both sets of families and of course the monarchy as a whole.”
Meghan and Kate are believed not to have spoken for two years, and the Sussexes’ bombshell tell-all with Oprah Winfrey last March did nothing to soothe tensions after Meghan openly accused Kate of bullying her over Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid’s dress at her 2018 wedding.
In his new autobiography, Revenge: Meghan, Harry And The War Between The Windsors, author Tom Bower alleges Meghan “binned” a bouquet of flowers Kate had made as a peace offering following their dispute. And our insider reveals how Meghan “doesn’t care” that their latest decision not to visit Kate and William will undoubtedly be seen as yet another snub.
The source says, “This trip is not about them or rebuilding relationships, it’s about her and Harry’s charity work and she doesn’t want anything overshadowing that. Meghan wants to do things on her terms and won’t be dictated to. This tour is important to her and she’s busy planning what to wear, who they’ll be meeting, and the messages she and Harry want to get across. There’s no time for family drama.She knows this might look like a snub, but she’s not interested in how it’ll be perceived.”
The news comes after Closer recently reported how the Queen’s invitation to the couple, alongside their children, Archie, three, and one-year-old Lilibet, to spend a holiday at the Balmoral Estate in Scotland this summer had been “bittersweet” for Meghan.
And while an insider insisted just last month that Harry was keen to spend “as much time as he can with his grandmother”, the couple appear to have shunned the 96-year-old monarch’s invitation in favour of pursuing their own agenda.
They plan to visit the One Young World Summit in Manchester on 5 September, where Meghan will make a keynote speech, before flying to Germany for the Invictus Games on 6 September. They will then return to London for Harry to deliver a speech at the WellChild Awards on 8 September.
There could still be an opportunity for the couple to spend time with the Queen, as her majesty is due to return to London to welcome in the new Prime Minister on 6 September.
Meanwhile, the royal family have been left on tenterhooks as they await the release of Harry’s new memoir. And the source says Meghan and Harry’s snub could be a warning that the monarchy are about to receive another blow from the couple, who have made millions in deals through their royal status.
The source adds, “Meghan doesn’t feel it’s appropriate for them to meet up this time, so it looks like any bridges will have to be built after his book is out – if that’s ever possible.”