Harry has been telling us

​I find the reporting about Harry and Meghan returning to the UK fascinating.

Now, I must admit, I have been fascinated with the Royal Family since I was a child because of my own family connection to the Crown, which I have mentioned in past posts. I get my interest honestly from my grandmother, whose first cousin was Sidney Johnson, the royal valet and confidant of the Duke of Windsor—the former King Edward VIII, who abdicated the throne for the woman he loved.

Sidney became the Duke’s valet while Edward was Governor of the Bahamas. He later traveled with him back to Europe and remained in his employ until Edward’s death. Sidney also became involved in the restoration of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor’s home and the preservation of their collections.

So yes, I have always paid attention to this family. I guess it is a weird fascination with colonizers. 

And when it comes to Harry, I learned a long time ago to listen to him, believe him, and not bet against him.

Years before Harry ever met Meghan, he told us he wanted to get married, have children and eventually step away from being a full-time working royal.

In 2017, Harry said that he had previously wanted out of royal life, but his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, encouraged him to stay and carve out a role for himself. He also spoke openly about wondering whether the demands of royal life would ever allow him to have the marriage and family he wanted. In other interviews, he discussed having questioned his royal role as far back as his twenties, particularly after watching what the pressures of that life had done to his mother.

Fast forward.

He meets Meghan. He marries her. They have children.

Then he does almost exactly what he had been telling people for years that he wanted to do.

And the world acted shocked.

When Harry and Meghan stepped back from royal duties in 2020, they said they wanted to become financially independent. They did.

They said they wanted to continue their charitable work independently. They did.

Their Archewell Foundation now has millions of dollars in assets and has supported dozens of charitable organizations and initiatives. Harry continues his work with the Invictus Games, while both Harry and Meghan remain involved with nonprofit organizations, advocacy efforts and philanthropic work.

But there is another part of their original 2020 statement that people seem to forget.

Harry and Meghan specifically said they intended to balance their time between North America and the United Kingdom and that doing so would allow them to raise their son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born.

That was not something they said yesterday.

They said it in 2020.

Their children are now Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, grandchildren of the reigning monarch. Those titles became available to them when Charles became King, and Harry and Meghan chose to use them — another indication that they never intended to separate their children from their royal heritage.

And now the reporting is that the Sussex family is preparing to spend significant time in Britain, with Archie and Lilibet reportedly attending school there.

Harry and Meghan themselves have not issued a formal public announcement, so I think it is important to distinguish between confirmed reporting and an announcement directly from the Sussexes.

But the reporting has now gone well beyond one anonymous tabloid rumor. Multiple major news organizations are reporting that the family plans to return to Britain for an extended period and that they will live in a private residence rather than a royal property.

The security question remains important. Harry has spent years fighting over the level of protection available to his family in Britain, and I cannot imagine that he would make a decision involving Meghan, Archie and Lilibet without being satisfied that their safety could be adequately addressed.

Still, if this move happens as reported, I will not be surprised.

Because Harry told us.

Again and again.

He wanted a wife.

He wanted children.

He wanted a life outside the confines of being a working royal.

He wanted financial independence.

He wanted his own charitable work.

And he wanted his children to understand the royal heritage into which they were born.

None of that required him to stop being British.

None of it required him to stop being the King’s son.

And none of it required his children to grow up disconnected from their grandfather or from the country that is part of their identity.

I also think King Charles has always understood that distinction better than much of the public has.

Harry and Meghan are not returning to royal duty.

That is not the same thing as never returning to Britain.

There was a time when Frogmore Cottage was specifically retained as their UK family home after they stepped back, and Harry and Meghan repaid the £2.4 million in public funds used for its renovation($3 million in American dollars). They later gave up the property, and the current reporting says they will now live privately rather than in a royal residence.

So I would not say the Palace literally kept a house waiting for them.

But I do think the family door was never completely closed. The porch light was in for a potential return. 

And perhaps that is what people have missed throughout this entire story.

Harry did not necessarily want to walk away from his family, his country or his heritage.

He wanted to walk away from the job.

There is a difference.

And if these reports are correct, six years later Harry may simply be doing exactly what he told us he intended to do all along. He told us in 2017. He told us again in 2020.

He is bringing his wife and children back to Britain on his own terms.

And their grandfather happens to be the King.

Full stop.

Frankly Speaking,

Adrienne Patrice Whitaker