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Meghaissance: how Archie and Lilibet are driving the Sussexes’ UK return · The Front

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  Speaker 1: From The Australian, here's what's on the front. I'm Claire Harvey.
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  Speaker 1: It's Thursday, August 27, 2026. The federal government is to
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  Speaker 1: launch a new crackdown on international student visas, family reunion
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  Speaker 1: and overstayers as part of a bid to get net
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  Speaker 1: overseas migration down. A new security treaty to push China's
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  Speaker 1: influence out of the Pacific Islands. That's the plan Australia's
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  Speaker 1: cooking up with the Solomon Islands. Those exclusives by Geoff
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  Speaker 1: Chambers and Ben Packham are live now at theaustralian.com.au. Where's
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  Speaker 1: my castle? Where's my pony? Those are perfectly reasonable questions
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  Speaker 1: for a young prince or princess to ask. And now
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  Speaker 1: Archie and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor are about to get the answers
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  Speaker 1: as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex splash down on
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  Speaker 1: a sceptical Britain. So what will the Megasants actually look like?
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  Speaker 1: Jacqueline Magne is here in just a moment.
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  Speaker 2: Could it herald the beginning of an end to the
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  Speaker 2: royal rift between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and
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  Speaker 2: the royal family?
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  Speaker 1: The kids were accepted into the school that they wanted
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  Speaker 1: and the possibility that the Duchess would get back into acting. Well,
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  Speaker 1: a new season of Rivals is about to start and
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  Speaker 1: this time it's real life. The Sussexes versus the Wales.
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  Speaker 1: At least that's how it's being portrayed by some in
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  Speaker 1: Britain who don't necessarily want Harry and Meghan to come
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  Speaker 1: back to the United Kingdom. Jacqueline Magne is the Australian's
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  Speaker 1: Europe correspondent and she covers the Royals for us. Jack,
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  Speaker 1: how would you describe the mood as Britain comes out
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  Speaker 1: of a long, hot summer? They're all very sweaty and
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  Speaker 1: they're a bit tired. Are they keen for the Sussexes
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  Speaker 1: to come back? Oh, not at all.
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  Speaker 2: It's like we don't need this drama. We've got too
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  Speaker 2: much going on in the country already and I think
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  Speaker 2: most people think we don't need this hassle. Please just
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  Speaker 2: stay in the United States.
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  Speaker 1: When the Sussexes were in Britain during the summer, they
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  Speaker 1: posted some, not surprisingly, beautiful kind of golden hour videos
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  Speaker 1: of themselves at Charles Spencer's estate in Northamptonshire. This is
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  Speaker 1: where Princess Diana grew up and where she's buried now.
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  Speaker 1: Is that a signal? Do you think that's where they're
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  Speaker 1: going to live?
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  Speaker 2: There was some indication that that might give them the
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  Speaker 2: privacy and the security that they need if they did
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  Speaker 2: go to that estate. And certainly Charles Spencer would be
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  Speaker 2: welcoming for them to go there. But I think more likely,
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  Speaker 2: certainly Megan would be more keen to go towards the
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  Speaker 2: Cotswolds area. I mean, it's gorgeous there. It's not that
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  Speaker 2: far from London. And it's also where she has established
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  Speaker 2: friendship groups. And of course, Megan's best mate, Marcus Anderson,
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  Speaker 2: has property interests there through Soho House. He was instrumental
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  Speaker 2: in getting Harry and they go back a long way,
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  Speaker 2: she would feel very comfortable there. And so my sense
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  Speaker 2: is that is the area that they'll end up. But
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  Speaker 2: of course, over here, there's a blackout on where they
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  Speaker 2: will be. And the media organisations have been told in
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  Speaker 2: no uncertain terms that they're not to reveal where the
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  Speaker 2: location is. Now, I think this blackout will last all
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  Speaker 2: of maybe two minutes. When school goes back next week
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  Speaker 2: and the young Prince Archie, who's seven, and Princess Lilibet,
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  Speaker 2: who's five, turn up at school, social media will be
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  Speaker 2: awash with this. So I don't know that they're able
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  Speaker 2: to keep a lid on exactly where they're going to
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  Speaker 2: be living for very long.
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  Speaker 1: We all know they've been on a global privacy tour,
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  Speaker 1: the Sussexes, and so they will want to keep that secret.
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  Speaker 1: But there is also a real reason for the need
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  Speaker 1: for some privacy. Britons are still reeling from the shocking
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  Speaker 1: murder of a politician, Anne Widdicombe, in her home.
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  Speaker 3: Investigating whether the murder of an outspoken former conservative politician
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  Speaker 3: was an act of terrorism.
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  Speaker 1: And it can be a violent place, Britain, and it
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  Speaker 1: is scary to think of the risk that they face
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  Speaker 1: when they do come home. Harry's been in this battle
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  Speaker 1: with government and with Buckingham Palace about who would pay
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  Speaker 1: for security. What do you think will happen? Will the
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  Speaker 1: government stump up for 24-hour armed security for this pair?
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  Speaker 2: I don't think so. It's such a political potato at
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  Speaker 2: the moment. I think King Charles will be the one
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  Speaker 2: that ends up digging deep into his pockets. I think
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  Speaker 2: the longstanding security issues are if Harry is over here,
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  Speaker 2: as a non-working royal, and like all other non-working royals,
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  Speaker 2: they don't have automatic 24-hour security. Now, the argument could
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  Speaker 2: be he served two tours of Afghanistan, he's been involved
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  Speaker 2: in conflict, and therefore there may be people who have
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  Speaker 2: some certain grievances against him, and notwithstanding the whole Megxit
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  Speaker 2: catastrophe that's happened over the last six years. So, He
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  Speaker 2: could argue a case that he has a need for
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  Speaker 2: stronger security than any other non-working royal. But then there's
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  Speaker 2: this fine line, is he a royal or is he
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  Speaker 2: a celebrity? And as a celebrity that's making private income,
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  Speaker 2: earning money off being a royal, then the taxpayer is saying, well,
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  Speaker 2: maybe you should be the one that funds your security,
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  Speaker 2: not us.
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  Speaker 1: Coming up, what about Harry's massive legal bill? They definitely
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  Speaker 1: need private income because he's just been ordered to pay
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  Speaker 1: a part of the legal costs of the male... newspaper group,
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  Speaker 1: which he unsuccessfully sued for a breach of privacy.
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  Speaker 3: The judge dismissing every single one of the Duke of
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  Speaker 3: Sussex's claims, saying that there just wasn't enough evidence to
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  Speaker 3: prove that the papers had obtained their information illegally.
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  Speaker 1: Is that money going to come from the King as well?
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  Speaker 2: I don't know because Harry has had several sources of income.
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  Speaker 2: He's had an inheritance from the Queen Mother. He's had
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  Speaker 2: an inheritance from his own mother. And he's been able
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  Speaker 2: to use that money and also leverage it with some
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  Speaker 2: private income coming in through their foundation, the Archwell Foundation.
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  Speaker 2: And then you've got Megan's own jam making business.
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  Speaker 1: Of course, there will be fruit preserves. I think we're
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  Speaker 1: all clear at this point that jam is my jam.
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  Speaker 2: But there's so many more products. And, you know, she
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  Speaker 2: hawks her clothes off and gets a commission of whatever
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  Speaker 2: she wears now. And so they do have some income,
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  Speaker 2: but of course, they're outgoings and they're style of their lifestyle,
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  Speaker 2: the extravagance of their lifestyle, really means that they're spending
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  Speaker 2: and dipping into their wallets enormously. So I think by
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  Speaker 2: coming to the UK, it may be a little bit
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  Speaker 2: cheaper for them if some of that security cost is
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  Speaker 2: covered by the king. And of course, the king will
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  Speaker 2: be thrilled that he will have more access to his
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  Speaker 2: two grandchildren, that he might be able to have some
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  Speaker 2: more private conversations with Harry. But the big elephant in
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  Speaker 2: the room is the relationship between Harry and William. And
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  Speaker 2: that is just a no-go zone. The two don't talk.
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  Speaker 2: They don't want to talk. Certainly, William has no interest
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  Speaker 2: in having anything to do with his brother. He doesn't
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  Speaker 2: trust him. And he doesn't feel that mending bridges would
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  Speaker 2: actually be in the monarchy's best interest in the long term.
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  Speaker 2: So therefore, that rift is going to continue. And it's
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  Speaker 2: going to be perhaps even more awkward in the coming year.
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  Speaker 2: if they're both in the same country and within closer
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  Speaker 2: proximity to each other, then certainly than what Prince William
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  Speaker 2: would like.
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  Speaker 1: That animosity between the brothers is partly about their wives,
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  Speaker 1: isn't it? In Harry's book, he wrote that William had
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  Speaker 1: expressed reservations about Meghan. He wrote that Meghan didn't like
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  Speaker 1: Kate or that Kate had been kind of cold and
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  Speaker 1: icy and had rebuffed Meghan on things like borrowing her
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  Speaker 1: lip gloss and fight over kids' christening outfits or wedding outfits.
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  Speaker 1: Is that something that Harry, with his considerable charm, can
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  Speaker 1: possibly rebuild?
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  Speaker 2: Well, Harry and Catherine used to have a fabulous relationship.
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  Speaker 2: In fact, they seemed really close. And Catherine was the
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  Speaker 2: one who was seen to be the person that could
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  Speaker 2: bring the two brothers together until it emerged that in
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  Speaker 2: his book, Spare, that the royal that he was accusing
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  Speaker 2: of being racist was Princess Catherine. And so ever since
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  Speaker 2: that moment, there's just been complete no-go zone as far
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  Speaker 2: as Harry's concerned. So I think Harry may have crossed
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  Speaker 2: the line there that I don't think William will ever
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  Speaker 2: come back and mend the bridges there. Publicly, there could
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  Speaker 2: be a situation where they are at certain events together.
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  Speaker 2: I'm thinking maybe Trooping of the Colour or Christmas at
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  Speaker 2: Sandringham where they're walking to the church, some certain public
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  Speaker 2: event private moments that the royal family have but I
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  Speaker 2: don't think that you will see them walking in tandem
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  Speaker 2: together so it's going to be a very interesting something
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  Speaker 2: that will keep newspapers enthralled for the next little while
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  Speaker 2: and the public is quite keen to know as well.
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  Speaker 1: We're going to get a lot more jam content, I'd say, Jack.
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  Speaker 1: There'll be things being wrapped in Japanese scarves and dried
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  Speaker 1: flowers as far as the eye can see on Megan's
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  Speaker 1: social feeds. How are they going to navigate this idea
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  Speaker 1: of working for an income and also showing up at
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  Speaker 1: royal events consistently? Kind of working as royals. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: this is the model that they pitched to the Queen
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  Speaker 1: before 2020 when they left and she rejected. Yes.
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  Speaker 2: Well, it does look like it's a half in, half
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  Speaker 2: out model, doesn't it, by just appearance. But I think
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  Speaker 2: the line is going to be drawn that they won't
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  Speaker 2: be involved in any royal tours. There won't be any
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  Speaker 2: official royal engagements. There could be some private engagements by Harry,
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  Speaker 2: especially because he does have some associations with some charities.
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  Speaker 2: There's just a handful that he's involved with. So he
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  Speaker 2: may get involved with those, but there won't be any
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  Speaker 2: extra work. And he will only be seen with the
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  Speaker 2: royals when there's these private occasions, when they're going to
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  Speaker 2: church on Christmas Day, or maybe it's the king's birthday
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  Speaker 2: and trooping of the colour, they're standing out on the
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  Speaker 2: balcony watching the red arrows fly over. And Meghan and
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  Speaker 2: Harry want that. They want to be seen to be
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  Speaker 2: closer to the crown because that's where their cachet is.
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  Speaker 2: That is where they need to show that they have
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  Speaker 2: some commercial benefit, that they are close to the monarchy.
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  Speaker 2: Harry is fifth in line to the throne. It's reminding
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  Speaker 2: everybody that he is a royal member and that his
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  Speaker 2: children are also royal members. And I think that's the
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  Speaker 2: critical thing here. I think that's driving it, actually. I
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  Speaker 2: think it's Meghan and Harry wanting the kids to have
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  Speaker 2: a royal upbringing. They feel that they're entitled to it.
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  Speaker 2: You've got to think that the kids themselves now are questioning, hey,
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  Speaker 2: I'm a prince, I'm a princess. Where's my castle? Where's
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  Speaker 2: my pony? And I think there's a lot of pressure
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  Speaker 2: on them as parents to come up with the goods.
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  Speaker 1: Well, not many parents can actually make that dream come true,
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  Speaker 1: but these two can. Thank you, Jack.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks so much, Clare.
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  Speaker 1: Jacqueline Magne is The Australian's Europe correspondent. You can read
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: her reporting and analysis about the Royals and the rest
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: of Europe right now at theaustralian.com.au.