Meghan unlikely to return to the UK

One royal author doesn’t expect Meghan Markle to revisit the UK anytime soon.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped away from royal duties last year and moved to California, saying they wanted to escape intrusions on their privacy by the British media.

But while Prince Harry is expected to reunite with his older brother Prince William at Kensington Palace for what would have been their mother Princess Diana’s 60th birthday in July, it is unlikely Meghan will join him, royal author Anna Pasternak told Fox News.

“Will Meghan Markle return to the UK? My speculative answer would be no, not if she can help it,” Pasternak said.

“Sadly, I cannot see her ever becoming a loved and cherished member of the royal family with the unified respect and adoration of the British people,” she said. “I think that ship has sailed.”

A statue of Princess Diana commissioned by Harry and Will in 2017 will be unveiled on July 1. Meanwhile, Meghan, 39, is expecting a baby girl around the middle of the year.

Pasternak, who wrote The Real Wallis Simpson about the American socialite who married Edward VIII, said she isn’t surprised by the recent backlash the former Suits star has faced in the UK.

On March 7, CBS aired a two-hour interview the couple did with Oprah Winfrey. During the sit-down, the Duke of Sussex, 36, revealed that his relationships with his father Prince Charles, 72, and older brother William, 38, have ruptured.

Markle described feeling so isolated and miserable inside the royal family that she had suicidal thoughts. When she asked for mental health assistance from the palace’s human resources staff, Markle was told they couldn’t help because she wasn’t a paid employee. The Duchess of Sussex also alleged that when she was pregnant with son Archie, a member of the royal family had “concerns” about the colour of her unborn child’s skin.

The family member was not Queen Elizabeth II, 94, or Prince Philip, 99, according to Harry, sparking a flurry of speculation about who it could be.

Harry also told the media mogul, 67, the royal family cut him off financially at the start of 2020 after announcing plans to step back from his roles. But he was able to afford security for his family because of the money Diana left behind.

“Many people feel the interview was a total lack of respect for the monarchy and in a sense, for the British,” Pasternak said.

“Because the monarchy is part of the British psyche. So this monarchy bashing can also be viewed as British bashing. And from personal knowledge, it is understood that Prince Charles, Prince William, Duchess Kate Middleton and the Queen – they were just so shocked and saddened by (the allegations).”

According to Pasternak, despite the ruthless UK tabloids targeting Markle during her relationship with Harry, the British people were eager to embrace the television star.

In the early days of their marriage, the couple was seen as the fresh young face of the monarchy for an increasingly multicultural nation.

“We absolutely embraced her,” said Pasternak. “We embraced this incredible wedding. We were thrilled with the ‘Markle Sparkle’. And we were thrilled for Harry, who was our nation’s son in a way. We all watched him walk behind his mother’s coffin and all of our hearts went out to him.

“We loved Harry and we were thrilled for him when he found this beautiful American actress for a wife. We genuinely were. But they didn’t stay long enough and kind of went into this self-imposed exile. Not only that, but they criticised the whole thing, which felt like they were throwing it back into our faces.”

“In the beginning, we really took to Meghan because she wasn’t an aristocrat,” Pasternak continued.

“She was actually this really ambitious, wonderful woman. So I think in some ways, many people in Britain do feel betrayed by her.”

During the interview, Harry told Winfrey he felt his family did not support Markle, who acknowledged her naivety about royal life before marrying the Prince, as she endured media attacks and false stories.

In response to a question from Winfrey, Harry said he wouldn’t have left royal life if he hadn’t married Markle. However, their relationship revealed the strictures of royal life.

Markle also admitted she was naive about the ground rules of royal life before marrying her husband nearly three years ago.

“I didn’t fully understand what the job was,” said Markle. “I will say I went into it naively because I didn’t grow up knowing much about the royal family. It wasn’t something that was part of conversations at home. It wasn’t something that we followed.”

Pasternak said she believed Markle truly had no idea what she got herself into by joining the royal family.

“Nobody’s going to go in and completely shake up the house of Windsor,” Pasternak said. “It’s just not going to happen because the very reason it’s endured for so long, it’s actually because very little has changed. Powerful women who marry into the house of Windsor don’t fare well. If they’re emotional and speak out, they certainly don’t fare well. It’s those who are stoic, go on with their heads down and do their duty like Kate and Camilla that endure.

“Look at Camilla, who at one point had the worst press ever,” Pasternak shared.

“She’s never spoken out and put duty first when she joined the family. Since then, she’s achieved this national treasure status by the people … The one thing you cannot do as a member of the royal family is to have an opinion. You have to remain impartial, apolitical and just smile. In many ways, Meghan was too bright for that and too animated and sharp.”

According to Pasternak, the biggest mistake one can make when joining “The Firm” is to confuse celebrity with royalty.

“Joining the family comes with a lot of restrictions that Meghan clearly didn’t want,” she said. “You cannot confuse celebrity with royalty. Duty always comes first.”

When asked what she believes the future holds for the couple, Pasternak replied: “That’s the million-dollar question.”

“I can see Meghan being backed by powerful people and eventually trying for political office,” she said. “I think she has an ambition that knows no bounds. So I wouldn’t be all that surprised if that was part of her agenda. All power to her, if that’s what she really wants.”

This article originally appeared on Fox News and is reproduced here with permission

Originally published as Meghan unlikely to return to the UK