After six years living in California, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are packing their bags and taking a flight back to England, where they originally fled after the British press hounded them, invaded their privacy, and British fans of the royal family mercilessly bullied Markle on social media. After the announcement, Black folks online had some thoughts about it. Let’s get into it!
If you haven’t seen the headlines, the couple is set to move back to England later this month and has already enrolled their children, son Prince Archie, 7, and daughter Princess Lilibet, 5, into school beginning in September, according to The Independent.
The news is not only a surprise for folks online but for King Charles III, too, as he only found out on Sunday, just three days before the press, per The Independent.
But given the life and business opportunities they’ve created for themselves in the U.S.—from Netflix and publishing deals to a quiet life in Montecito, California—compared to the hateful and invasive press cycle, lack of adequate security, and alleged racial comments they suffered through in the U.K., Black folks online are speculating there’s something deeper behind the move.
“Why on earth would you come back?” Black British TikToker Marvyn Harrison asked. “…My worst fear is that something is wrong within the royal hierarchy and there will be some changes, adjustments, and movements, and he (Prince Harry) wants to be close. Whether he will play a role in the future, I don’t know. But there is no reason, in his control, that he would come back for. It must be something bigger than him and his family.”
In the TikTok comments, many folks agreed with his assumptions, writing that they think it might have to do with King Charles III being sick.
“King Charles is on his way out,” wrote one user.
Related: Meghan Markle Claps Back at Critics Over Posting Her Kids Online
“The king is probably really sick,” added another.
In 2024, it was revealed that King Charles III was diagnosed with cancer— without disclosing which type of cancer—and has been undergoing treatment for the disease for the past two years, according to the BBC. However, while some folks online feel that the king is knocking on death’s door, others feel that Harry might want his kids to have a British upbringing rather than an American one.
TikTok creator @Blackgirlswhobrunch) said the move isn’t that shocking, since Meghan Markle signed up for British life by marrying a royal whose identity is embedded in the country.
“He (Prince Harry) is a member of the Royal Family, an inactive member, but I imagine so much of who you are and how you view yourself is tied to the country you’re from and the culture. Even for regular folks, people feel that way, so as a royal, yeah…,” she said. “And now you’re raising these California kids, and you want them to experience beans and toast and that dreary weather over in the U.K., that sounded shadier than I intended it to be, but I get it. So, I’m not surprised they’re going back.”
Erika also added that she is ready to defend Markle if British folks start abusing her the same way they did before she left England in 2019. “I’m gonna have to clock back in and start bopping Brits again on the internet because they are bound to cut up. I hope they’ve learned some lessons from the last time. I doubt it! And so the good news for Meghan is you come from a line of people, Black Americans who are very good at playing internet games right on back,” she declared.
However, others, like TikTok user Cydney (@ccmn11), are just laughing at the decision, asking why Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey went through so much to help and defend the couple during their move to America, if they were just going to return to the U.K. six years later.
@ccmn11 I can do bad all by myself, in the UK.
#princeharry
“They had Tyler Perry and Oprah doing all that, and for what? For them to be like, ‘Actually, America’s way more ghetto, we’re outta here,’” she chuckled. In the comments, folks also left laughing emojis about the situation.
Although they’re moving back to England, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will remain inactive members of the royal family. Instead of living on taxpayer funding, the husband and wife plan to continue working for their money.
A report by People stated that a move to England will allow Harry to work more closely with the British children’s charities, Scotty’s Little Soldiers and WellChild, while Meghan continues to build her lifestyle business, As Ever, internationally.
