Prince William and Kate Middleton's two-word verdict on Harry and Meghan's behavior
Prince William and Kate Middleton's two-word verdict on Harry and Meghan's behavior
Jane Lavender, Hollie BealeSun, September 6, 2026 at 9:00 AM UTC
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Six years after leaving the UK and their roles as senior working royals, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have returned to British soil.
The royal pair arrived in Britain last week and are believed to have obtained a private, non-royal home outside of London, with their two children, Archie and Lilibet, already registered for school and scheduled to start in just a few weeks.
The duo had been residing in Montecito, California, since leaving the royal family in 2020.
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During the time away, they produced their own Netflix series, Finding Freedom, chronicling their experience within the royal family, while Prince Harry published his memoir, Spare, in which he claimed he had been knocked into a dog bowl by his elder brother, the Prince of Wales, during a heated argument over his relationship with Meghan.
The couple has also appeared with some of the most prominent figures in American television, where they made a series of claims about life as working royals and those within the monarchy.
Harry and Meghan have returned to the UK (Image: Aaron Chown/PA Wire)
The relationship between Harry and William is reported to have been tense well before the Duke and Duchess of Sussex decided to step back from their royal responsibilities, with the Prince and Princess of Wales said to be keen to prevent any "drama" surrounding the homecoming.
Close friends of the couple have disclosed that while they "cannot forgive" the Sussexes for their accusations directed at the royal family during their time in America, they remain steadfast in their commitment to "look forward to the future".
Prince William and his father, King Charles, are understood to have been notified of Harry and Meghan's plans at the same time and remain in "complete agreement" that there can be no "half in, half out" role for the Duke of Sussex, who is not expected to return to his royal duties.
Harry and Meghan on their wedding day (Image: Getty Images)
The deteriorating relationship between William and Harry reached a critical point following the Duke of Sussex's marriage to Meghan in 2018, according to Mirror royal editor Russell Myers in his book, William and Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story.
A source familiar with both couples at the time of Harry and Meghan's wedding indicated William and Catherine felt the Sussexes had 'an agenda'.
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They added: "They definitely thought the Sussexes' behavior stemmed from something more than being difficult. The whole atmosphere between them was pretty toxic.
"Meghan was being bullish, Kate found her abrasive. There was definitely a hope from her side [Catherine's] that William could try and talk to Harry and settle things, but that didn't exactly happen... and at the end of the day, she had three young children, who were her focus and if anything, she saw the inevitability of the parting of ways, although perhaps not to the extent of what eventually happened."
Myers also reveals William's reaction to Harry and Meghan's 2019 interview with Tom Brady, during which the Duchess of Sussex openly acknowledged she had been struggling, and Harry said he and his brother were on "different paths". In the book, Myers discloses that the interview solidified something in William's mind and demonstrated to the future King and Queen just how significantly things had shifted between them and Harry.
The two couples following the death of the late Queen (Image: PA)
William also felt Harry had become "paranoid" - despite his own attempts to support him.
"He [William] felt as though somewhere down the line, perhaps it is impossible to even say when, that he lost his brother," a source close to the future King disclosed. "He became paranoid, angry, obsessive, and firmly rooted in the past. There's no doubt, at that time at least, there was a lot of love and support available for Harry."
It has been extensively reported - and Harry has himself acknowledged - that William cautioned his younger brother to take things slow with Meghan. "It's easy to forget now, given everything that has gone on," an insider told Myers.
"But William did find Meghan quite refreshing at first. He was genuinely happy for Harry and only wanted the best for him."
According to Myers, Catherine, who had consistently acted as a mediating force during the brothers' disagreements, determined there was little more she could accomplish. "Catherine has always favored reason over conflict. It was how she had been brought up, in a household that resolved differences with dialogue rather than by bearing grudges.
"At first she had thought William and Harry's squabbles were rooted in immaturity or stubbornness, on both sides, but Harry and Meghan's attitude towards palace staff, who she and William cared about, set the couples on an entirely different course."
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
