Prince Harry’s return to the UK in May follows months of speculation and rumours. The Duke of Sussex is back on British shores to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Invictus Games, his life’s work charity venture helping get injured military personnel involved in sports. Yet the only thing people cared about more than Harry’s return was whether wife Meghan Markle, and in turn their children Archie, four, and Lilibet, two, would return with him.

It was not to be. While reports claimed that Meghan had been ‘listed as a guest’ at the anniversary ceremony, a spokesperson has now confirmed that Meghan will not travel with Harry to the UK. Instead, she will meet Harry in Nigeria after his trip, where the couple will embark on a short tour together associated with the Invictus Games.

Since she and Harry stepped back from royal duties in January 2020, neither royal has spent much time in the UK. Harry made a fleeting visit in February following the news of his father King Charles’ cancer diagnosis, after which he spoke of his love for his family and the power of sickness to ‘bring families together’. According to The Daily Telegraph, Charles’ jam-packed schedule as he resumes royal duties next week means he might not have time to see his younger son.

Meghan, meanwhile, stayed at home in California with the children. In fact, the former Suits star has only made three return visits since their departure from the UK four years ago. Page Six reports that Charles is considering inviting Harry and Meghan to visit them at Balmoral Castle this summer, in order to spend time with his grandchildren. And while it seems like the Sussexes could have been eyeing up some kind of return to Harry’s home country after hiring new PR executives in both Los Angeles and the UK, Meghan’s skipping the UK leg of his visit shows they’re not quite there yet.

Can you blame her? Ever since leaving the UK, Meghan and Harry have built a life in the US. Their children Archie and Lilibet both have dual citizenship of America and the UK, with Meghan surrounding herself at home with famous friends including Serena Williams and Katherine McPhee.

The launch of her new lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard this spring showed that Los Angeles native Meghan Markle feels closer to her all-American roots than ever. It was their home in Montecito, California that featured throughout the company’s branding, while her Los Angeles neighbours including Mindy Kaling, Tracee Ellis Ross and even Kris Jenner were the first to receive some of the brand’s produce. At the time of writing, it is not clear whether American Riviera Orchard will be sold in the UK, or internationally at all.

But as much as Meghan has reconnected to the US since stepping back from royal duties, there’s also been a clear move away from the UK. Before her exit, branded ‘Megxit’ by the press, she was widely criticised by the British tabloids. Yet when they left, their move was seen as a sign that Meghan had turned Harry against his own family – even when Harry detailed years of tension with his brother Prince William in his memoir Spare. Meghan can’t win.

Over the years, the Sussexes haven’t been afraid to get litigious with the UK tabloids. In February 2021, Meghan won a privacy claim against the Mail on Sunday’s publishers over the publication of a letter she wrote to her estranged father Thomas in 2018. Then, in December 2023, Harry settled with another tabloid publisher over phone hacking and illegal snooping, saying that he had been ‘vindicated’ and his ‘mission’ to rein in the tabloids continued. However, he withdrew an unrelated libel lawsuit against another publisher the following month.

Of course, the worry of bad press might make Meghan feel unsafe and uncomfortable to return to the UK. But what about her actual safety? Back in 2020, Harry took legal action against the British Home Office over a decision to downgrade his publicly funded security once he lost his status as a full-time working royal. In April 2024, the Duke of Sussex lost an attempt to appeal this decision, making the issue of security for him and his family tricky.

Ultimately, you can’t blame Meghan for not wanting to return to the UK, a place that has always treated her with hostility. When after weeks of feverish speculation about Kate Middleton’s whereabouts earlier this year, it was revealed that she had been being treated for cancer, there was a collective guilt, a sense that people should have handled the situation and let Kate be. Of course they should, but Meghan deserves the same grace too, to be left alone away from the UK if she so wants.