President Trump told reporters he is glad the Duke and Duchess of Sussex packed up and returned to Britain, and said that if he were the royal family, he would have shut the door behind them.
Speaking from the Oval Office on August 31, Trump did not mince words when asked about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's departure from their $14 million Southern California mansion. "I'm happy about it," the president told reporters. "I was not a fan."
The couple, along with their two children, Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, arrived in England by private jet the previous week after what reports describe as several weeks, if not months, of planning. They are reportedly staying on an estate in the Cotswolds owned by Ian Wace, CEO of the investment firm Marshall Wace LLP, whose net worth is estimated at $1.2 billion. Wace reportedly helped finance the family's return.
Trump's comments went beyond a passing observation. He offered a pointed critique of how Markle, 45, and Harry, 41, conducted themselves toward the British monarchy, an institution Trump has engaged with directly during two state visits, a distinction he noted as rare for an American president.
Queen Elizabeth hosted Trump during his first term. King Charles hosted him during his second. And in April, Trump returned the hospitality, welcoming King Charles and Queen Camilla to the United States for a state visit.
That personal rapport with the Crown appeared to inform his bluntness. Trump told reporters:
"I thought they treated the royal family with great disrespect. I didn't like it. I didn't like the way she acted. I thought she was terribly disrespectful to the Queen, to King Charles."
He went further, offering unsolicited advice to the monarchy itself: "If I were the royal family... I would not have taken them back."
The tension between Trump and Markle is not new. In a 2016 interview, Markle called then-candidate Trump "divisive" and "misogynistic." She later described the 2020 election as "the most important election of our lifetime," a statement widely interpreted as an endorsement of Joe Biden. Trump responded at the time by publicly stating he was "not a fan" and wishing Harry "a lot of luck", adding, pointedly, "he's going to need it," as the Washington Examiner reported.
Trump also drew a firm line on security costs. After Harry and Meghan relocated to California, Trump refused to have U.S. taxpayers fund the couple's estimated $1 million-a-year security expenses, a position that drew little opposition from the American public.
Corey Lewandowski, a senior Trump campaign adviser, captured the mood around Trump's orbit at the time, saying Markle had "made Britain great again by leaving" and expressing hope that "they do the same for the U.S."
The Sussexes' return to Britain is not simply a retreat from American life. Harry told the BBC he wants to repair his fractured relationship with his cancer-stricken father, King Charles III, AP News reported.
"I would love reconciliation with my family. There's no point in continuing to fight anymore. I don't know how much longer my father has."
The family has enrolled Archie and Lilibet in British schools, with classes set to begin in September. They plan to maintain their Montecito, California, home while living at a private, non-royal residence outside London. Meghan will reportedly continue running her lifestyle brand from the UK, while Harry focuses on his British-based charities.
Jennie Bond, a former BBC royal correspondent, suggested the move may not have been Markle's first choice. "Perhaps Meghan is taking one for the team here, because I'm not sure this is her life's desire to live back in the U.K.," Bond said.
The couple's American chapter was marked by a string of professional setbacks. Their entertainment and media ventures, including a high-profile Netflix deal, failed to deliver the returns that once seemed promised by their celebrity status.
Reports indicate that Harry and Meghan do not have public security in Britain and are not expected to return as working members of the royal family. King Charles reportedly learned of the couple's plan to return only days before their arrival, a detail that undercuts any suggestion of a carefully coordinated family reunion.
The couple's reported frustration with American politics added another layer to their departure. But the move back to Britain carries its own complications. Markle has faced sustained public hostility in the UK, including being dropped from a Netflix series after fierce backlash from British audiences.
Harry, meanwhile, faces his own unfinished business across the Atlantic. A London court ordered him and several co-claimants to pay millions after a failed privacy lawsuit against the Daily Mail, a costly reminder that Britain's establishment has not rolled out the red carpet.
So the Sussexes leave behind a $14 million California mansion, a trail of underperforming business ventures, and a president who is openly relieved to see them go. They return to a country where the king barely knew they were coming, the public remains skeptical, and the security detail is their own problem.
Trump, at least, kept it simple. Asked about the departure, he said what most Americans were already thinking: good riddance, and good luck to whoever takes them next.
