{"id":865514,"date":"2026-08-23T12:36:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T12:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/865514\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T12:36:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T12:36:16","slug":"prince-harry-and-meghan-what-londoners-really-think-of-their-planned-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/865514\/","title":{"rendered":"Prince Harry and Meghan: What Londoners really think of their planned return"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"David<\/p>\n

August 23, 2026 \u2014 7:30pm<\/p>\n

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London: The Duke of Sussex is waiting for me when I alight from Waterloo Station and walk along busy streets on a sunny afternoon as people head out for drinks and dinner.<\/p>\n

Before I get to the pub and its popular beer garden, however, I have work to do. I slow down so I can ask people what they think about Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, making an imminent return to Britain<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And I find Londoners have as many opinions about the royal family as they have bus routes.<\/p>\n

\"EmpathyEmpathy can be hard to find on the streets of London, but at least there\u2019s some in the beer garden of the Duke of Sussex.Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they\u2019re welcome \u2013 it would be better for everyone if they reunited as a family,\u201d says Karl, a man in his 30s who is rushing for a train.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey should stay away,\u201d says a woman in her 50s.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an irrelevance,\u201d says Benedict, a communications professional. \u201cThe royal family is an ancient hangover of a corrupt society.\u201d<\/p>\n

Big questions surround the royal couple\u2019s return with their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5. The children are due to start at a British school as soon as next week, the beginning of the school year, and the family are said to be moving to a private residence just outside London.<\/p>\n

The British press is full of speculation about whether the government will assign security<\/a> to the family; when Meghan will resume her acting career; whether King Charles will welcome them home; and whether Harry can reconcile with his brother, William, the Prince of Wales.<\/p>\n

Even those who have a soft spot for Harry \u2013 the actual Duke of Sussex, of course \u2013 wonder why he is coming back after speaking out against the royal family during his six years in California.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t mind Harry. I think he\u2019ll be fine,\u201d says Helen McMahon, a doctor who is out for the day with her two young children. \u201cBut I think they\u2019ve become pretty unpopular because nobody likes Meghan because they think she\u2019s a gold digger.<\/p>\n

\"DoctorDoctor Helen McMahon believes the royal family is now a waste of money.David Crowe<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd they\u2019ve tried to monetise everything and televise everything. So, I wonder whether they can just change their minds that easily and return.\u201d<\/p>\n

McMahon believes the royal family is now a waste of money, although she liked the late Queen Elizabeth II. Here in central London, it is not hard to find others who feel the same way.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they\u2019re scroungers,\u201d says Martin, a middle-aged salesman.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI think the media feeds them. They feed the media. They can all eff off. They cost the country too much. I have no interest in them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the royal family should be taken off somewhere. Buckingham Palace can be turned into a nice youth hostel or a nice homeless hostel.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is about two months since King Charles disclosed accounts<\/a> showing the royal family cost taxpayers \u00a3132 million ($250 million) last year. The latest polling shows<\/a> 64 per cent of British voters believe the UK should keep its monarchy, but the cost of the institution is clearly a concern on the streets near Waterloo Station.<\/p>\n

David Ashcroft, a shipping industry worker, says Harry and Meghan can do as they wish as long as they pay their own way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve let themselves down, I think, by behaving like children,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"ShippingShipping industry worker David Ashcroft says Harry and Meghan can do as they wish as long as they pay their own way.David Crowe<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to reap what you sow. Harry is estranged from his brother, and I think he\u2019s an embarrassment, really, and he should be ashamed of himself for not having more self-control.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ashcroft has not read the prince\u2019s memoir, Spare, but he has seen enough about the book to feel that Harry has only himself to blame for his rift with his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the great British characteristics is if you have a problem, you don\u2019t talk about it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Britain\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople think everything needs to be spoken about these days. It doesn\u2019t. It doesn\u2019t get better when you share it, sometimes.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think he should have kept it all to himself, been a professional about it and then dealt with it himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who should pay for security for the family when Harry and Meghan arrive on British soil?<\/p>\n

\u201cThey should,\u201d Ashcroft says. Others say the same here on Baylis Road in the Borough of Lambeth, south of the Thames. I am only a short walk from the street where William Blake, artist and poet, railed against the monarchy two centuries ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think they should get back their royal contingent of security,\u201d says Max Bateman, an airport worker in his 30s. \u201cThey decided to step away from that. If they don\u2019t want to be part of the royal family, then they don\u2019t get the perks of being in the royal family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Could Harry and Meghan return to their old royal duties in some way? There is not a lot of sympathy for them on this front.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a one-way decision,\u201d Bateman says. \u201cThey stepped away. If you don\u2019t want to be in the limelight, stay out of the limelight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bella Paksi, a university student about to turn 20, also thinks security should be up to the family, not the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey should be on their own. They\u2019ve got enough money,\u201d she says. \u201cThere shouldn\u2019t be our tax money going towards that.\u201d<\/p>\n

While others believe the monarchy has outlived its usefulness, Paksi says there is still support for the royal family among the young.<\/p>\n

\"UniUni student Bella Paksi thinks security should be up to the family, not the state.David Crowe<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that it does bring a net positive, and also it means holding on to what historical roots England does have,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think that keeping the royal family is a good thing for that reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

I walk to the pub knowing, even more surely than I did before, that Harry and Meghan will struggle to find any support from the British public when they return. A YouGov survey last month<\/a> found 58 per cent had a negative view of Harry; 65 per cent had a negative view of Meghan.<\/p>\n

Then I\u2019m stopped by a council street sweeper, working in bright orange overalls, who wants to know why I\u2019ve been asking people so many questions. Prudence has a kind heart. She tells me it would be good for Harry and Meghan to be reconciled with the family.<\/p>\n

\u2018They stepped away. If you don\u2019t want to be in the limelight, stay out of the limelight.\u2019<\/p>\n

Max Bateman, an airport worker in his 30s<\/p>\n

\u201cThe children should be able to see their cousins,\u201d she says. But what about all the things Harry has said about his father, his brother and the rest of the family? \u201cThey should give him a second chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, once I get to the pub, I meet Sion, 30, who is sipping a white wine with a friend in the beer garden.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just wish them the best,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually don\u2019t have any negative feelings about them at all. I think everyone\u2019s a bit mean about them, to be honest. I\u2019ve moved abroad before and come back. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s that deep, is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike others, Sion has no problem with the government arranging security for Harry and his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t ask to be born into that life where you need security,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I was being harassed by a stalker<\/a>, I\u2019d hope that the police and whatnot would look after me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of feel sorry for anyone who\u2019s famous. I would hate it. So, I think maybe I have a bit more empathy for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Empathy can be hard to find on the streets of London, but at least there\u2019s some in the beer garden of the Duke of Sussex. When Harry and Meghan return, they should drop in for a drink.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what\u2019s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"DavidDavid Crowe<\/a> is Europe correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"August 23, 2026 \u2014 7:30pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":865515,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,134],"class_list":["post-865514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=865514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/865515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=865514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=865514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=865514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}