Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were warned that they are in a “rather awkward” position after Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States, as the duke’s visa row continues.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been in an ongoing feud with the new US President since before they moved to the US back in 2020.
Mr Trump, who was inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States last month, has previously hinted at dealing with Prince Harry’s visa when he’s in office – after a row sparked following his revelations in his memoir Spare that he has used recreational drugs in the past.
Now royal commentator Jennie Bond claimed that the Sussex couple could be in for a tough time with Mr Trump as President and argued that it is an “awkward” time for them as Meghan has previously opposed him in the past.
She told the Mirror: “It must be rather awkward having a President of the United States whom Meghan has openly criticised and who has the power to throw Harry out of the country if his visa application was proved to be fraudulent.
“You could say that it’s squeaky bum time for the Sussexes, but the fact is that the most powerful man in the free world probably has more to think about than the residency rights of an estranged prince of the United Kingdom.”
The spat between the Sussexes and the Trumps began in 2016 before Meghan married into the Royal Family when she accused the new US president of being “divisive” and “misogynistic” during an interview on The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore.
In 2019, Mr Trump replied to her comments, telling the Sun before his trip to the UK: “I didn’t know she was nasty.” He attempted to dismiss the comment, despite it having been recorded.
A year later, he hit out at Meghan again, saying: “I’m not a fan of hers. I wish a lot of luck to Harry, he’s going to need it.”
But it was his comments last year that fuelled a row sparked by a think tank regarding the duke’s visa arrangements as he hinted he could intervene when he’s in office if Harry “lied” about taking drugs in the past.
Mr Trump told Nigel Farage on GB News: “We’ll have to see if they know something about the drugs, and if he lied they’ll have to take appropriate action.”
Meanwhile, the Heritage Foundation – a conservative Washington DC think tank – has been trying to force the US government to make Harry’s visa application public following the duke’s revelations in his memoir Spare, where he wrote about taking recreational drugs in the past.
But US judge Carl Nichols ruled in September that the duke’s visa application should not be made public, saying that “the public does not have a strong interest in disclosure of the duke’s immigration records”.
Elsewhere, Ms Bond claimed that it is highly unlikely Harry will move back to the UK as he and his family, the duchess and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, have settled in the US.
She said: “I still think that Harry is intent on carving out a future for himself and his family in California. Once you have children, and they start school, the roots that you have established grow far more quickly.
“It’s harder than ever to up sticks and move away because of the instability that can cause for the family.
“So I think Harry is happy to continue his family life in California but, hopefully, spend more of his time on his charity work into which I think he can pour his heart and soul.”