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It was supposed to be the great Sussex homecoming, but nearly two months on, the reality of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle\u2019s UK return appears to be rather less glamorous and threatens to leave the couple more divided than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rather than stepping back into royal life united, Harry, 42, and Meghan, 45, are reportedly taking increasingly separate approaches to their new existence, with the Duchess determined to concentrate on their children and her own business interests while Harry throws himself into work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And, according to one source, Meghan has made it very clear she has no intention of simply following her husband from engagement to engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018She\u2019s focused on the kids and her brand, and truth be told, she\u2019s not interested in following him around like some Stepford wife,\u2019 the source says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It marks a striking departure from the couple\u2019s first years in Britain, when Harry and Meghan were rarely seen apart and appeared to embrace the whirlwind of life as senior working royals together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, however, we\u2019re told the Duchess believes the only way to make their return work is to divide their responsibilities between them \u2013 leaving Harry with the considerable task of proving that their move across the Atlantic was financially worthwhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Her view is that they should divide and conquer and Harry agrees, but it does mean a whole lot more pressure on his shoulders and absolutely zero time to himself because the moment he\u2019s free from work he\u2019s got to rush home to give Meghan a break from parenting duties.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Harry, that pressure is reportedly already mounting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His return to the UK was initially heralded as the homecoming of a prodigal son, particularly in the eyes of King Charles, with hopes that his presence would eventually help thaw the icy relationship between the brothers and allow the King to spend more time with Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead, Harry has found himself juggling a punishing schedule of charity appearances, international travel, business opportunities and family responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He has already travelled to Canada and New York this month, while also attempting to establish himself once again in Britain as a \u2018private civilian\u2019 rather than a working royal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And we\u2019re told that proving the Sussexes\u2019 move was the right decision has become a personal mission for Harry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An insider says, \u2018Getting them all to England was just the first battle, now he has to prove that it was the right decision which means a whole lot of hard work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018He was adamant that this move would allow him to bring in more money so he\u2019s running from one gig to the next and at the same time he\u2019s working all his contacts to find other opportunities, and not just for himself, he wants to open doors for Meghan too, he promised her he would.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Plus, he has the constant headache of trying to navigate the situation with his family which has been even harder than he anticipated.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, Meghan has taken a markedly lower-key approach to their return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rather than appearing alongside Harry at his public engagements, the Duchess has reportedly been based at an undisclosed location in the Cotswolds while the couple search for a permanent property in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her British social life, however, appears to be taking shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She has been spotted at the exclusive Soho Farmhouse and at an Oxfordshire pub with former Montecito neighbours Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi. More recently, her long-term friend Kelly Zajfen shared photographs from a UK trip with her family, including a country pub lunch with Meghan featuring fish, chips and mushy peas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a far cry from Meghan\u2019s first stint in Britain, when her every move was played out against the backdrop of royal duty and her relationship with Harry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back then, the couple were almost inseparable. From royal engagements to official tours, their PDAs became a defining feature of their image as the monarchy\u2019s glamorous new generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But six years after they walked away from royal life and moved to California, we\u2019re told Meghan has returned to Britain with a very different mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Duchess is reportedly determined to establish an identity of her own, concentrating on As Ever while ensuring Archie and Lilibet settle into their new surroundings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that leaves Harry to do what he apparently promised he would: make the move work financially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018The poor guy hardly had time to unpack his bags in England before he was back on a plane to New York to start hustling. He believes in what he\u2019s doing so in that sense it\u2019s very gratifying, but it\u2019s still exhausting. If the bills weren\u2019t piling up there\u2019s no way he\u2019d have packed his schedule this way,\u2019 the source says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His most recent UK engagements have also presented a very different picture to his last visit in July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On that occasion, Harry appeared to thrive while meeting children at a festival organised for Scotty\u2019s Little Soldiers and during the One Year to Go event for the Invictus Games \u2013 a project that remains particularly close to his heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This time, however, his appearances have attracted attention for rather different reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During a recent school visit, reports suggested some teenagers were not immediately aware of who Harry was and teachers had to explain that he was \u2018the King\u2019s son\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a man who once commanded huge crowds and global attention as one of the world\u2019s most recognisable royals, it was an uncomfortable reminder of just how much his public role has changed since 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And while Harry has insisted he is happy to be back, the workload required to establish their new life is reportedly taking its toll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re told, \u2018The hardest part is how much time they\u2019re having to spend apart, it makes sense on paper but it\u2019s much easier said, than done. They\u2019re hardly seeing each other, Harry is out late schmoozing and Meghan\u2019s in bed well before midnight so she can be up early with the children and as soon as the school run is done, she\u2019s straight into work mode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018They had all these romantic plans for what they wanted to do in England and so far it\u2019s been nothing but work. There\u2019s hardly enough time in their calendars for a full night\u2019s sleep, let alone date nights. They both say they\u2019ve accepted this is the way things need to be for now, but that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s easy to be living such separate lives, it\u2019s bound to take a toll.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the apparent strain of their schedules, the source insists there are no signs of trouble within the marriage and this current situation is simply the price the Sussexes are currently paying for attempting to establish themselves in Britain once again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Harry himself struck an upbeat note last week, declaring, \u2018It\u2019s great to be back on British soil\u2019 and revealing that his children were \u2018happy\u2019 at their new school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The family had been forced to move from their first UK school after just two days amid security fears, making their reported settling-in period particularly important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For now, Harry appears determined to prove that the gamble was worth it \u2013 even if he is discovering that life back in Britain comes with considerably more work than he anticipated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Right now, it\u2019s on his shoulders to sort things out financially, that was the deal he and Meghan made when she agreed to this move, and he\u2019s determined to live up to his side of things,\u2019 the source says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018As tough as it is to be taking on all this responsibility, in some ways he\u2019s enjoying the challenge, he wants to prove to Meghan, and his family, that he can do this.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n And while Harry concentrates on expanding their opportunities, Meghan is reportedly equally focused on making sure her own ventures succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They add, \u2018Meghan is plugging away on As Ever, she\u2019s confident that with more time it will bring in the sort of profits they need to support their lifestyle, but in the meantime the pressure is on Harry to keep them afloat and he\u2019s fully committed to doing that, regardless of how exhausting it might be.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n Photos: Getty, @<\/strong>meghan<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As Harry continues his one-man show, we’re told the couple are at loggerheads over their future in the UK <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":16144,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity","category-entertainment"],"acf":{"article_authors":"","send_as_draft":false,"send_as_paid":true,"send_as_featured":true},"modified_by":"closermag","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/closerv2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/closerv2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/closerv2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/closerv2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/closerv2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16142"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/closerv2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16171,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/closerv2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16142\/revisions\/16171"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/closerv2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/closerv2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/closerv2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/closerv2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2270780381-1.jpg\")
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