One place you likely won’t catch Meghan Markle and Prince Harry any time soon: the United Kingdom.
In a new documentary on ITV, “Tabloids on Trial,” The Duke of Sussex discusses his “genuine” concerns about returning to his home country with his wife amid ongoing legal battles and in the aftermath of the pair defecting from the royal family in 2020.
“It’s still dangerous, and all it takes is one lone actor, one person who reads this stuff to act on what they have read,” he explained, per USA Today.
When the pair made the decision to step back from their royal duties, their security detail was downgraded. Despite multiple credible threats against the Duchess of Sussex’s life, Prince Harry has not been successful in appealing for an upgrade. He has even offered to cover the cost himself but was denied.
He continued, “And whether it’s a knife or acid — whatever it is — these are things that are of genuine concern for me. It’s one of the reasons why I won’t bring my wife back to this country.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have returned only a handful of times, including during the Queen’s Jubilee.
As the documentary aired, the couple’s former Frogmore Cottage home in the U.K., which they personally renovated and were asked to leave after stepping down as senior royals, remains vacant.
On Wednesday, The Royal Household reported its 2023-2024 financial year, revealing the partially taxpayer-funded amount spent to support King Charles’ official duties and maintain the occupied royal palaces. Among the updates, the palace noted the status of the residence.
“I don’t think, at this point, I would speculate on who will be the future occupants of the cottage,” an official said at a briefing, according to The Independent.
Considering that Prince Harry has made it clear he’s not returning until he can assure the safety of himself, his wife and their children, you can bet it won’t be them.
During the documentary, Prince Harry gives more insight into how his legal battle with British tabloids has caused the rift to deepen between him and his family. In December, Prince Harry won his case against against the Mirror Group Newspapers.
“I’ve made it very clear that this is something that needs to be done. It would be nice if we did it as a family,” he said, per People magazine. “I believe that, again, from a service standpoint and when you’re in a public role, that these are the things that we should be doing for the greater good. But I’m doing this for my reasons.”
When asked about the royals’ continued silence on the matter, he said, “I think everything’s that played out has shown people what the truth of the matter is. For me, the mission continues. But it has caused part of a rift.”
Among the royal family, one person Prince Harry said supported him was his late grandmother.
“We had many conversations before she passed, this is very much something she supported; she knew how much this meant to me,” he said. “She is up there going, ‘See this through to the end,’ without question.”