Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s future hangs in the balance (Image: Getty)
The Sussexes will shortly have an enemy in the White House. It also may have an effect on their activities generally, as what actually happens may well depend on how they behave.
Prince Harry has said that the United States is now his home and he and his family live in Montecito, California.
His visa application has not been publicly revealed despite a request from the National Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, to ascertain if he had admitted his drug taking which he is legally required to do. Failure to do so can lead to deportation.
The Biden administration were keen that it should be kept private and a judge ruled that Harry’s right to privacy outweighed any public interest.
The incoming Trump administration may take a different view. At issue is Harry’s open admission of drug taking in his memoir, Spare and in interviews promoting it.
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In Spare, he said he smoked cocaine as a teenager and marijuana when a pupil at Eton. There is also a description of taking illegal psychedelic drugs in California. He took drugs to ease the trauma he was suffering due to his mother’s untimely death, but to go public like this was highly ill-judged, like much else in his unfortunate memoir.
Donald Trump’s trademark unpredictability is, however, certain to cause the Sussexes a great deal of concern, especially since they so openly dislike each other.
In 2016, Meghan, an American citizen, talked of staying in Canada if Trump was elected. She called him “misogynistic” and “divisive”. He later called her “nasty” and said he was not an admirer of hers.
In the Election in 2020, they urged voters to “reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity”. They did not name Trump, but it was clear who they meant.
Nothing came of persistent reports that Meghan, given her charitable activities and ability as a public speaker, might go into politics.
In the recent election, the Sussexes, in what may be seen as a rare, wise move, simply urged Americans to vote without endorsing either candidate.
Harry did not attend the Banquet at Buckingham Palace for Trump during his state visit to Britain in 2019. It did not go unnoticed that Meghan did not attend any events during that period.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have lived in the US for four years (Image: Getty)
Trump said of Harry, regarding his visa, when interviewed by Daily Express US “I wouldn’t protect him. He betrayed the Queen. That’s unforgiveable. He would be on his own if it were down to me”.
He also said, when interviewed by Nigel Farage on GB News, that he would ensure that “appropriate action” was taken if Harry was found to have lied on his visa, However, he did not elaborate on what that might be.
It might be fortuitous that the Sussexes have bought a house in Portugal. They will be close to Eugenie, their favourite royal cousin and her husband Jack Brooksbank, who works there. It could also be a bolthole if one was suddenly needed.
If it was discovered that Harry lied on his visa, it would be a cause celebre if a decision was taken to expel him. Trump, as his son Eric recently indicated, undoubtedly has other priorities. “No one cares”, said Eric, about him and his “unpopular” wife.
However, a question mark will remain as Trump is an admirer of the royal family. The President-elect is among the many who dislike the way the Sussexes have ruthlessly monetised their royal connections.
They have conducted what has been compared to a guerrilla war against the institution, which has caused a lot of damage, especially among the young.
When Meghan was accused of bullying her staff when she was a senior working royal, which she strongly denied, Buckingham Palace, in a move widely seen as protecting her, did not publish its report into the matter.
It would surely be the ultimate irony if, should Harry have lied on his visa, courtiers were asked to intercede on his behalf to prevent him being deported!
If any action was taken against him on the issue of his visa, Harry might have to spend an expensive few years fighting it in the courts.
The royal family is Britain’s most important use of soft power and never more so than dealing with the most unpredictable President in modern times.
The dilemma for the Sussexes is that on the one hand, their brand requires a high profile as you can’t flourish in Hollywood if you hide. They are used to saying and doing what they feel like and have never had to answer detailed questions about their accusations against the royal family.
Yet if there is an inaccuracy in Harry’s visa and if their activities were to enrage the notoriously thin-skinned Donald Trump, the consequences might be dire. Harry and Meghan are likely to face a stressful period in the coming months and years.
Richard Fitzwilliams is a royal commentator, film critic and public relations consultant. He has given over 1,500 interviews on television. He was Editor of The International Who’s Who, the standard source of its type, from 1975 to 2001.
