SKIPPING TOWN

Why Humiliated Harry and Meghan Will Quit U.K.: Royal Expert

A royal reporter thinks the Sussex brand isn’t just in decline, but outright “over.”

It has been just two months since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle brought their family back to the United Kingdom, but one royal expert believes they are already on their way out.

Mark Dolan, a royal and showbiz news reporter, predicts that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will soon be heading back stateside because their U.K. return has been “a complete disaster” since they arrived in August.

“I think that the Sussex brand is in deep, deep trouble,” Dolan told The Royalist Podcast host Tom Sykes. “People are not as fond of Harry as they used to be back in the day. What’s Meghan’s approval rating? Just a few notches above Andrew. I really think, for their own reasons, both Harry and Megan, the Sussex brand is—I think it’s not just in decline, I think it’s over.”

Dolan speculated that the couple returned to the U.K. in the first place to rehabilitate their royal branding and regain their royal credentials after being away for six years.

Instead, in the short time they have ve been back in the U.K., Harry has been demoted from chief impact officer to senior adviser at coaching firm BetterUp, and Meghan has drawn backlash for appearing to take a swipe at the media after troubling allegations surfaced against her estranged father.

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“It’s highly likely, and I think they would go back to the United States with their tails between their legs,” Dolan said. “I just think that it’s been such a damp squib, their U.K. return. The money doesn’t seem to be coming in.”

He continued, “I think that when they got back to the U.K., they hoped that they could move the dial a little bit, fix things with the family—well, that’s not happening—and then also boost their career. And as I said earlier, there’s no good news story at the moment. Things have got worse since they got back.”

Archewell, the philanthropic organization founded by the Sussexes, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Dolan also pointed out that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have not sold their $14.65 million estate in Santa Barbara, California, which could be another sign they intend to return to the U.S. at some point.

“So I just think, given the fact that they haven’t sold the Montecito mansion, that a U.S. return about a year from now is the most likely outcome,” he said.

As for Harry and Meghan’s kids, 7-year-old Archie and 5-year-old Lilibet, Dolan thinks their parents have not been protecting their privacy.

“Is it in their best interests to feature regularly on Instagram with parts of their faces obscured, which only creates more curiosity? Is it in their best interests to be called Prince and Princess? Because I mean, it doesn’t take a genius to work out, Tom, that if you’re called prince or princess, you’re going to be more of a target because the clue’s in the name,” he said.

“Was it in the best interests of Archie and Lili to leave America, which was their home, to leave California, where you’re allowed to have armed bodyguards—so by definition, much safer—and to leave Montecito, which is a millionaires’ playground, a very, very safe place,” Dolan added. “So, in my view, everything’s been awful for Archie and Lily since they left America.”

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