Prince Harry on Why He Won't Bring Meghan Markle Back to the U.K.: "It's Still Dangerous"
He fears for his family's safety.
Prince Harry has opened up about why he's unwilling to bring wife Meghan Markle back to the U.K. as things are right now.
In a new documentary on Britain's ITV, Tabloids on Trial, which follows Harry and other public figures' court case(s) against some of the country's biggest tabloids, the Duke of Sussex shared why he doesn't believe his family is safe in his home country. In part, he believes that some of the hateful commentary about him in the press could lead a "lone actor" to harm the Sussexes.
"It's still dangerous, and all it takes is one lone actor, one person who reads this stuff to act on what they have read," Harry said in the doc (as transcribed by People). "And whether it's a knife or acid, whatever it is, and these are things that are of genuine concern for me, it's one of the reasons why I won’t bring my wife back to this country."
Meghan Markle was in the U.K. for the last time in September 2022.
Since Harry and Meghan stepped down from royal life in 2020, they have no longer been entitled to police protection while in the U.K., which they have claimed poses a danger to their safety as extremely high-profile people. They have also been denied the right to privately pay for adequate protection.
While the duke returned to the U.K. as recently as May, the duchess has not been back since the Queen's funeral in September 2022.
As well as the potential consequences for his physical safety, Prince Harry has been very open over the years about the psychological impact of tabloid intrusion into his life.
For example, in court documents from 2023, his lawyer David Sherborne claimed that, because of tabloids' alleged invasions of privacy, his client "became immediately suspicious of anyone named in stories about him and felt that he could not trust anybody, even at such a young age. It also caused great challenges in his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, and made him fear for his and her safety."
The widespread impact tabloid activity has had on Harry since he was a child is the reason he's so determined to bring about what he considers justice for anyone who feels their privacy was invaded by the press.
