The funniest part about the years-long speculation about Prince Harry’s “return to the UK” is that there’s a growing body of evidence that powerful figures in the British establishment actually want the Sussexes to come back, permanently or semi-permanently. Half of the speculation isn’t even about whatever Harry or Meghan are doing or saying. It’s about what other people are arguing on their behalf. Even back in 2020, there were British politicians, royalists and cultural figures who said publicly and privately that the Sussexit was bad, actually, and that the Windsors should find a way to bring Harry and Meghan back in some way. Obviously, this has reached a crescendo this week alongside the news that the Home Office has decided to do a security risk assessment for the Sussexes. If the Home Office and Ravec determine that the Sussexes should have security on-demand in the UK, then that’s a vital part of the “establishment plot to bring back the Sussexes.” So says Richard Eden at the Mail. Here’s an excerpt from his latest column:
The decision to carry out a new risk assessment is all the more striking because the legal position, upheld by the Court of Appeal, has not changed: the process does not apply to Harry and Meghan because they live overseas. What has changed, I can reveal, is that the ‘Establishment plot’ which aims to restore the California-based couple to the affections of the British public is gathering pace and has powerful supporters.
The plot is known as ‘Project Thaw’ because the aim is to ‘warm up’ the duke’s and duchess’s frosty relationships with the rest of the Royal Family and with the British people. As I wrote in September: ‘Worryingly, King Charles has been drawn into this, aided by some key figures of the Establishment behind the scenes.’
Those key figures include senior Government ministers such as David Lammy, the Justice Secretary, and Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary, who travelled on the same train as Harry to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv when he visited the war-torn country in September.
Ms Cooper is said to be among the Establishment figures who admire the duke and want him to play a bigger part in public life. She is married to Ed Balls, former Cabinet minister in the Blair administration and now a host of Good Morning Britain, the ‘woke’ ITV breakfast show from which Piers Morgan resigned after Meghan complained to his bosses about critical comments he made on the programme. She is also said to be one of the senior Labour Party figures keen for Harry and Meghan to reconcile with the Royal Family. Many on the Left hailed the mixed-race American actress as a symbol of change in the Monarchy when she married Harry in 2018 – and still yearn for her return.
My sources say the new risk assessment could result in taxpayer-funded police protection being restored to the Sussexes. And the explanation will be that Harry and his family plan to spend much more time in Britain than previously. As a friend of the duke’s told me in September: ‘Harry wants to educate the children here in the UK.’
The friend who discussed the subject with the duke during his visit to Britain that month, explained: ‘Harry feels his children are missing out on the extensive family network that their niece and nephews are enjoying. Harry wants his children to have the very best education. He has retained his closest friendship group of confidants from his days at school at Ludgrove and Eton. He wants that for his own children.’
If the new risk assessment does result in police protection being restored to Harry and Meghan, there would be fury from taxpayers, I believe. It would also be a highly dangerous move for the future of the Monarchy. Just when Left-wing Labour MPs are rubbing their hands with glee at the review of Crown Estate properties and the favourable terms given to members of the Royal Family, Harry and Meghan would be free to come and go at leisure – at a considerable cost to the Exchequer. This is something that the increasingly influential Republican Left would relish. It must not happen.
All of the casual assumptions… if the risk assessment finds that the Sussexes should get security, I guess they really believe that Harry and Meghan will pack up their kids and bring them straight to London? Yeah, I doubt that’s happening. I’ve never believed the British education stuff either. But all of the stuff about the Starmer government officials advocating for the Sussexes’ return is fascinating and hilarious. The Scooter King is going to have another nervous breakdown over that. Hell, even Boris Johnson went on the record about how much he liked Harry and Meghan and thought they were a national asset. William’s big play to exile his more charismatic brother has blown up in his face so spectacularly. It’s beautiful.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.
