Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s return to the Royal Family could be possible if they follow the footsteps of a key royal couple, courtiers have claimed.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex quit the Firm nearly five years ago and moved to the US, where they took on a number of projects to be financially independent, including their Spotify and Netflix deals.
Just last week, Netflix released a trailer for their latest project, a show about polo, which is set to be released in December.
At the same time, one of Harry’s royal relatives, the Duchess of Edinburgh, received a big honour after she became patron Plan International UK, a global children’s charity of which the late Prince Philip was formerly patron.
Now royal courtiers are confident that Duchess Sophie and her husband, Prince Edward, “could point the way” for the Sussex couple to return to royal duties, the Mail reports.
One source told the outlet: “Harry’s heart is not in the TV stuff – anyone can see that.”
The duke does not appear to be featured in POLO, with his name only appearing in the production credits alongside Meghan Markle.
The royal insiders claimed that if the Sussex couple were willing to give up their private work, they “would be welcomed back” just like Sophie and Edward, who have been involved in previous controversies on their own.
In 2002, Edward stepped down from his TV production company, Ardent, to start working full-time for the Firm after it was discovered that a crew allegedly filmed Prince William at St Andrews University the year before while he was a student, which was against the media guidelines regarding the privacy of royals. Ardent was shut down seven years later.
Meanwhile, his wife Sophie was involved in another scandal the year before, after recordings of damning conversations involving her were leaked to the press.
The “Sophie tapes” heard the duchess criticise then-Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife, Cherie, as she appeared to abuse her royal connection, allegedly saying: “When people find we’re working for you, the chances are you’ll get people interested. [They’ll say,] ‘Oh, gosh, they’ve employed the Countess of Wessex’s PR company.’”
She also appeared to take aim at the then Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, whom she referred to as “number one on the top 10 unpopular people.”
But from 2002, the couple have devoted their life to the crown, and their work has seemingly paid off, which could go down in a similar way for the duke and duchess in Montecito, according to courtiers, however, it would have to be done on one condition.
They told the Mail: “If the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are prepared to give up their private work and return to royal life, they would be welcomed back. Certainly, as long as King Charles is monarch.”
Therein lies a warning to the Sussexes: Prince William is unlikely to be as forgiving as his father.
