President Donald Trump did not mince words while sharing his reaction to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leaving the U.S. to resettle in the U.K.
“I’m happy about it,” Trump, 80, told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, September 2. “I was not a fan.”
The president added that if he were a member of the British royal family, he would “not have taken them back, frankly.”
“I thought they treated the royal family with great disrespect,” Trump said of the couple. “I didn’t like it. I didn’t like the way she acted. I thought she was terribly disrespectful to the Queen [Elizabeth II] and to King Charles [III].”
Charles, 77, hosted Trump for a state visit in the U.K. in September 2025. Six years prior, the late Elizabeth hosted Trump during his first term as president. He returned the favor by hosting Charles and wife Queen Camilla for a state visit to the U.S. in April.
Harry, 41, and Meghan, 45, left the U.K. and moved to Montecito, California, with son Prince Archie, now 7, after they stepped down as senior royals in 2020. (The couple later welcomed daughter Princess Lilibet, 5, in 2021.) Six years later, they have moved across the pond once again with both of their children, who are starting school in the area this month.
Harry and Meghan are expected to keep their home in Montecito, as well as a vacation residence in Portugal.
A source exclusively told Us ahead of the move in August that Harry was “not as happy in the U.S. as he is in the U.K.”
“They are open to a new chapter,” the source continued.
The pair are not expected to resume royal duties, although Harry will be spending more time supporting U.K.-based charities and patronages. Meghan, meanwhile, is expected to continue running her As Ever brand overseas and is reportedly in talks to return to acting.
The insider noted, “Harry still operates as if he were a member of the royal family when he evaluates opportunities. He’s seen royals who have left the royal family, like Sarah Ferguson, whose path he does not want to emulate. He wants to do things that are a right fit for him, but that can be very limiting. And, of course, they need to find ways to make money, so they are eager to find partnerships that are the right fit and fruitful for them.”
Us understands that Charles was informed of his son’s plans to return to the U.K. just days before the news made headlines. Tensions have grown between Harry and his family, including brother Prince William, since his and Meghan’s royal exit.
Former royal butler Grant Harrold told Us that Harry’s move likely will not “completely heal” his relationship with William, 44.
“It will take a lot more than that,” Harrold said last month. “Too much happened. It will be a situation where actions mean more than words. … I think they will be poker-faced and play happy families, but behind the scenes, it will take a lot more.”
