Prince Harry & Meghan Markle Could Be "Cut Off," Says Royal Expert

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published 13 June 2022

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wanted to "mend fences" during their visit to Britain for the Queen's Jubilee. Instead, they reportedly ran into a "brick wall" with much of the Royal Family.

But even though they didn't receive the friendliest welcome upon returning from California as a family for the first time, the fact that they were included in the public celebrations at all represents an "olive branch," for royal expert Duncan Larcombe. He believes that royals will now be on tenterhooks waiting to see whether the Sussexes will use their visit to the U.K. for content purposes.

"The test really begins now for Harry and Meghan," Larcombe says in this week's Closer. "They have come to the U.K. and to the Jubilee and really cemented themselves as royals again—which is great for their brand and something that Spotify, Netflix and Penguin will be eating up."

But whether they will continue to be included in official events will depend largely on how (if at all) they speak of what they saw and heard during the long weekend.

"But everything now depends on their behavior moving forward," Larcombe continues. "Clearly an olive branch has been extended by the royal family here. But Harry and Meghan would ruin that if any private information about this weekend was spoken about to the press or revealed in a book."

For Larcombe, the Royal Family doesn't fully trust the Sussexes anymore, and will be using the aftermath of the Jubilee as a way to measure whether that trust can be rebuilt or if it has been broken forever.

"It’s last-chance saloon for them now," Larcombe explains. "If anything from the weekend leaked, I imagine they will be totally cut off and that’ll be it. It’s very dangerous ground if they betray anyone now. But if they act appropriately and prove they can be trusted, it could be a huge step in the right direction and the start of a new beginning."

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.