Prince Harry’s future in the United States could rest in a man’s hands who once labelled his wife, Meghan Markle, a “classic woke” who gets “outraged when she doesn’t get freebies”, it had been claimed.
The Duke of Sussex’s visa arrangements have come back into the spotlight following Donald Trump’s election as US president earlier this week. Harry has been living in the US since 2020 when he stepped down as a senior working royal.
Earlier this year, the US President-elect hinted he could intervene regarding Prince Harry’s visa “if he lied” about taking drugs in the past. The Duke of Sussex opened up on his use of drugs in his memoir Spare.
Now reports have claimed that his future across the pond, depending on what visa he’s on, could rely on whoever Mr Trump appoints as Secretary of State.
One of them could be Ric Grenell, the former US ambassador to Germany who was also acting director of national intelligence in Mr Trump’s first term, the Mail reports.
Mr Grenell was critical of Meghan after her and Prince Harry’s infamous Oprah Winfrey interview in 2021, where they made a series of explosive claims against the royals.
At the time, he tweeted: “Meghan Markle is the classic American woke progressive. She doesn’t want to do the work but is outraged she doesn’t get the freebies.”
Another one could be Senator Marco Rubio, who is known to be keen on British affairs. However, he has not commented on Prince Harry before.
Harry’s immigration records remain private after a judge in Washington DC ruled that his visa application should not be made public following requests by US think-tank The Heritage Foundation.
It is not known what type of visa the duke is on, however, experts have previously suggested he could be on a diplomatic visa (A-1 visa) or a rare A-1 Head of State visa, which is used by heads of state and Royal Family members, since he is fifth in line to the throne.
The A-1 Head of State visa is different to the A-1 visa, given to senior diplomats, as A-1 Head of State visa holders are free to enter the US without working as heads of state or Royal Family members.
The Mail has previously reported that Harry could also be on an O-1 visa, which is a temporary non-immigrant visa for foreign nationals with extraordinary ability.
