'Harry and Meghan circus returns as UK move points to damaged relations with King'

Every year at Christmas, my friends and I play a game where we write down our predictions for the year ahead and place them in an envelope to be read aloud at the next year’s gathering. Some serious, some heartfelt, some outlandish just for the fun of it. But never in anyone’s wildest dreams would they have dared to suggest Harry and Meghan were returning permanently to the UK. Well buckle up folks, because the circus is coming to town, again. I say permanently, but the full picture of this extraordinary development that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who continue to trade on their royal titles for personal and massive financial gain, are leaving the California sunshine just in time for the British winter. Folks, didn't you hear, you've just missed out on the best summer ever! While the Sussexes have for the past six years previously fired shots toward the monarchy from a relatively safe distance of more than 5,000 miles away, this is the fleeting visit. While there has been no official confirmation, it is widely understood that the couple have enrolled both their children, Archie, seven and Lilibet, five, in British schools for the start of the new school term. Any parent brought to their knees over the last month or so of summer holidays will tell you exactly to the minute when that start is. So, let's dive in. Why oh why have Harry and Meghan decided now is the time to return? Not content with blindsiding the late Queen Elizabeth II that they were leaving the royal family just before Covid locked us all down in 2020, with a bombshell announcement on Instagram of all places, now it’s the turn of the King to play catch up with Harry and Meghan's latest plan to rock the institution. Despite being welcomed into the monarch's home at Highgrove just six weeks ago, to sit at his table for tea, cake and a slice of reconciliation, neither the absent duke nor duchess thought to mention this major life decision on the horizon. Regardless of the reason they chose to remain so coy, that fact alone tells you how perverse and damaged relations between the two camps are at present. Still, the King has grinned and bared it on this occasion, no doubt with a sigh of further dismay at his youngest son's behaviour, while being delighted he will get to see his grandchildren more frequently. But before I digress further, and for those at the back, WHY NOW?? Nothing Harry and Meghan have done since leaving the royal family has been for purely selfless reasons. Which begs the question, have they gone skint? Are they really such a busted flush in America that no one wants to work with them? Can you really burn through one hundred odd million in six years? It's entirely plausible that all of the above is true. Having just returned from a family wedding in California, where I didn't quite have the time to pop into Montecito even if jam and flower sprinkles were on offer, I was shocked just how far Harry and Meghan’s star has fallen in the US. Even if we are to take at face value the comments made to me by a fair few Californians and other guests from further across the US, opinion of the Sussexes was an overwhelming thumbs down. So are they coming back for new ventures? A Euro launch of Meghan’s lifestyle brand? Or do they actually think they have a chance of winning the hearts and minds of the British public who will rush to their defence and launch petitions en masse to bring them back into the royal fold for our mutual benefit? As it stands, no one knows the full picture, but quite frankly at this stage, anything could happen. What I do know at least, is one particular side of the family will remain determined to not be derailed. The Prince and Princess of Wales have not only emerged stronger from the darkness of the last couple of years, with the princess’s cancer battle and William having to consider his future role may come sooner in light of the King’s own health issues, and regardless of their private views on this latest crazy development within the House of Windsor. Further to that, for now at least, the King and Prince William are completely united that there is no space for Harry and Meghan to be 'half in, half out’ royals. Even if they were to give up all their corporate gigs, which they have earned tens of millions of pounds for in the process of trashing the family from afar, using hurtful and damaging allegations of abandonment, threats and even racism to drive a sledgehammer through the institution, how on earth could they be let back in? That will be a matter for the King and his heir and could prove decisive and explosive if the aging monarch changes his mind or feels moved to instruct his eldest son to forgive and forget. Whether you're a fan of the Sussexes, perhaps you believe everyone has behaved in a manner not befitting of their office, or you think all should be forgiven, one thing is for certain, there will be fireworks on the horizon. This is an extract from the Mirror's Royal Insider newsletter - click here to sign up.