Six years ago, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left royal life behind and eventually settled in California, creating a new future thousands of miles from Buckingham Palace.

Now they are heading back.

But as news of their extended return to Britain spreads, an unexpected political argument has emerged in the United States: did Donald Trump help make America considerably less attractive to the Sussexes?

According to a Daily Mail report published on August 20, 2026, some of Trump’s MAGA allies have seized on that possibility, openly mocking Harry and Meghan as they prepare to relocate to Britain with Archie and Lilibet.

Katie Miller, wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, offered perhaps the bluntest interpretation:

“They are moving back to Britain because they don’t like President Trump.”

She was responding to reporting that Harry and Meghan “have made no secret of their disillusionment with the current White House.”

Miller did not stop there. In separate posts, she claimed Meghan “always just wanted to be a celebrity” and described the couple as “broke.”

Those are Miller’s claims, however, not established facts about the Sussexes’ finances.

Conservative commentator Megyn Kelly was similarly delighted by the news. Responding to a post from Dan Wootton describing Megxit as being “reversed,” she wrote:

“We’ve done our time here in America my dear friend!”

The reaction is striking because California was supposed to represent something entirely different when Harry and Meghan moved there in 2020: distance from royal controversy and the opportunity to construct an independent life.

Six years later, Britain is becoming a major part of their lives again.

But Trump alone cannot explain everything.

Harry and Trump Already Had History

Tension between Harry and Trump had surfaced publicly before the Sussexes’ decision.

After Trump suggested NATO allies had “stayed a little back” during the Afghanistan war and questioned whether NATO would support America if necessary, Harry responded personally.

The Duke served in Afghanistan and emphasized that NATO allies had answered America’s call under Article 5.

“Allies answered that call,” Harry said.

Then he made his response considerably more personal:

“I served there. I made lifelong friends there. And I lost friends there.”

Against that background, suggestions that the current American political climate contributed to Harry and Meghan’s decision are understandable.

But they remain suggestions.

Neither the information presented nor the Sussexes themselves establish Trump as the definitive reason for the move.

Indeed, another explanation may be just as important.

Harry reportedly believes Meghan has recently received a warmer response from the British public. He was said to have been encouraged by the attention surrounding his wife during a recent Birmingham visit.

Harry has also reportedly missed Britain and has been eager for Archie and Lilibet to experience the country where he grew up.

Now that desire is becoming reality.

Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, are believed to have already enrolled at a British school, with reports suggesting the family could remain in Britain until the children complete their education.

Yet this is not a restoration of their old royal life.

Harry and Meghan will live in a non-royal residence and remain private individuals rather than working members of the Royal Family. Sources insist returning to the royal fold is not their “plan.”

King Charles reportedly “welcomes” the opportunity to see more of his son and grandchildren privately, while remaining clear that there will be “no alteration” to Harry and Meghan’s royal status.

That makes another detail particularly awkward.

When Harry, Meghan and their children met Charles and Camilla privately at Highgrove earlier this summer, the Sussexes reportedly did not mention their impending extended return.

Charles apparently learned about it only on Sunday.

The Highgrove reunion had nevertheless represented meaningful progress. It was the first time Charles had seen Archie and Lilibet in four years, and Harry hopes his father will join him in opening next summer’s Invictus Games in Birmingham.

While one royal relationship may be improving, another remains frozen.

Harry and William are not believed to have spoken for years. William and Catherine were reportedly “deeply hurt” by allegations in Harry’s memoir Spare.

Royal author Phil Dampier believes reconciliation remains extremely difficult, saying that although the brothers previously put aside their differences for the unveiling of Princess Diana’s statue, “things are much worse now.”

Next year marks 30 years since Diana’s death, potentially creating an opportunity for the brothers to appear together.

Dampier doubts William wants it.

“Friends tell me that, as far as he is concerned, Harry is the past,” he said, adding his opinion that William may “never forgive Harry” over his departure and the controversies surrounding Spare, the Netflix programme and Oprah Winfrey interview.

The article also revisits allegations that Meghan bullied palace employees and was nicknamed “Duchess Difficult.” Royal correspondent Valentine Low has claimed some former employees remained psychologically affected and “viewed her capacity for revenge as infinite.”

Meghan has vehemently denied the bullying allegations, describing their publication as an orchestrated smear campaign.

All of this makes the Sussexes’ return much more complicated than a simple story of two people fleeing Trump’s America.

They are not even completely abandoning America.

Harry and Meghan intend to retain their approximately £11 million Montecito home. They also own property at Costa Terra in Portugal, purchased in 2023, where the family recently holidayed.

Their future therefore appears increasingly international rather than simply British or American.

And perhaps that is what the MAGA victory lap misses.

Trump’s allies can celebrate the Sussexes’ departure and argue that the President helped drive them out. Britain can speculate about whether Harry is reversing Megxit.

But Harry and Meghan appear to be doing something more ambiguous: keeping California, maintaining Portugal and rebuilding a substantial life in Britain without returning to royal duties.

Six years after escaping one complicated world for another, the Sussexes are heading back toward the place where their most difficult relationships remain unresolved.

Whether they are running away from Trump or running back toward Britain may therefore be the wrong question.

They may be trying to do both.