Harry and Meghan Return to a Bleaker Britain With No Patience Left
Six years after the Sussexes left, they return to a country poorer, angrier and far less trusting of its institutions.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have returned to Britain six years after leaving a country they felt had become intolerable, but now find many of the pressures they described then have become part of everyday life in the United Kingdom. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived in the UK with their children for an extended stay, while still not working as royals and keeping their home in California.
Their timing is particularly noteworthy, as it comes on the heels of a country facing a national rupture due to COVID-19, Brexit, the energy price shock, and a series of political changes that have brought four prime ministers in six years.
The Sussexes left the UK just before the pandemic, the completion of Brexit, the European energy shock, and a prolonged squeeze on living standards. While Britain was not alone in facing these challenges, the comparison between the two periods is striking. In real terms, Britons were still slightly poorer when the Sussexes left, and daily life has become markedly different.
Food prices have risen by 38% since January 2020, and the NHS waiting list has increased significantly, with 7.3 million treatment pathways by June 2026.
Despite the country's overall economic growth and high employment rates, the ordinary lives of British people feel less prosperous. The Sussexes' complaints about the palace, the media, and racist treatment of Meghan have grown into a broader dissatisfaction with institutions that seem unresponsive and unwilling to help. A 2025 study found that seven in ten people believe the country is on the wrong track, and 87% have little trust in politicians.
The parallel between the Sussexes' grievances and the broader dissatisfaction with institutions is evident, but the scale of the political consequences is different. While the Sussexes' dispute was focused on palace courtiers, the current public frustration spans various aspects of life, including public services, living standards, culture, and government competence.
The old Brexit divide has weakened, and the country now appears fragmented along multiple fronts, leaving people with a sense that institutions are failing to listen or protect them.
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