Meghan Markle May Be Open to Returning to the UK After 4 Years — But Only on One Condition
Meghan Markle may join Prince Harry at a key Invictus Games event in Birmingham this summer.
For Meghan Markle, the UK has existed for the past four years as a nostalgic place she discusses in speeches or interviews, rather than a place she has actually been to in person. However, that is likely to change, with the Duchess set to make a trip this year, alongside Prince Harry, one where their relations with a place they left behind would surely face its greatest test.
A return is in the books owing to the Invictus Games, Harry’s flagship charity. Markle is believed to be contemplating a joint appearance with her husband at a one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games, set to take place in Birmingham on July 10. This would be her first visit to Britain since the death of Queen Elizabeth at her funeral in September 2022, if all goes according to plan.
This journey, however, is based on only one question, which is security. Harry’s legal fight for security in the UK continues to be evaluated by Ravec, the committee specializing in security decisions for members and prominent guests of the royal family. Comprising high-ranking police, government, and member officials, their ruling on the latest matter should be out later this month, with sources claiming Markle will not attend unless it’s a positive response.
Harry has been quite clear in his stance. Since losing his police protection in the UK in 2020, following his step down as a working royal, he has consistently argued that without the augmented protection of the system in Britain, he and his family are in danger. Having lost his High Court case last year, he called the decision an 'establishment stitch-up.'
However, there is a glimmer of hope in the Sussex camp that the government may now agree to some form of increased protection. Plans for the Birmingham Games are reportedly quite advanced and are a key component in the drive in the coming summer months to build momentum for the 2027 Games. The Games will be staged in the UK for the first time since its inauguration in London in 2014.
Markle's attendance is very significant but not unprecedented. She has been closely involved in the Invictus Games since stepping back from the royals. She has participated in countdown ceremonies in Canada and Germany, as well as promotional events in Vancouver and Whistler with Harry in early 2024. She has also met the participants during training sessions, attended the Games, and traveled with Harry to Nigeria in 2024 to support the Foundation.
She also participated in a countdown ceremony in Düsseldorf in 2022, weeks before the passing of Queen Elizabeth. What remains unclear is whether the couple’s children would be part of any UK visit. Prince Archie, now six, and Princess Lilibet, four, have not been back to Britain since the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June 2022, when Markle’s appearance at a service at St. Paul’s Cathedral drew a mixed public reaction.
