“NOT A FAN” — TRUMP WELCOMES HARRY & MEGHAN’S UK RETURN WITH A BLUNT ROYAL WARNING
Donald Trump has made his position on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle unusually clear.
He is happy they are back in Britain.
But that does not mean the U.S. president has suddenly become a supporter of the Sussexes.
Far from it.
Asked about Harry and Meghan’s return to the United Kingdom, Trump said he was “happy about it” — before bluntly adding:
“I was not a fan.”
Then he went further.
Trump accused the Duke and Duchess of Sussex of treating the British Royal Family with “great disrespect” and said he did not like the way Meghan had acted toward the late Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III.
And in a remark certain to attract attention on both sides of the Atlantic, Trump said that if he were part of the Royal Family, he would not have taken Harry and Meghan back.
That puts an extraordinary new voice into the story of the Sussexes' return.
Because Harry and Meghan may be back in Britain.
But Trump is making clear that, in his view, returning home does not erase what happened before they left.
“I’M HAPPY ABOUT IT”
Trump made the comments during a question-and-answer session at the White House on September 2.
His first reaction was surprisingly positive.
“I’m happy about it,” Trump said.
But almost immediately, he explained why that did not mean he had changed his personal view of the Sussexes.
“I was not a fan.”
The contrast is what makes the statement so striking.
Trump was not criticizing the decision to return.
He was criticizing the relationship Harry and Meghan had with the Royal Family before and after their departure from Britain.
Trump said he had a very good relationship with Queen Elizabeth II and spoke warmly about King Charles, whom he said he had known both as Prince Charles and as king. He described Charles as a “great, great guy.”
That personal connection appears to be central to Trump's comments.
He was not simply discussing the Sussexes' relocation.
He was comparing their treatment of the monarchy with his own relationship with two generations of the Royal Family.
Then Trump Turned to Meghan
The most pointed part of Trump's comments came when he discussed Meghan.
Trump said he believed Harry and Meghan had treated the Royal Family with “great disrespect.”
He specifically criticized what he described as Meghan's treatment of Queen Elizabeth and King Charles.
“I didn’t like the way she acted,” Trump said, describing her as “terribly disrespectful” toward the late queen and the king.
Those are Trump's characterizations, not an independently established judgment about Meghan.
But coming from a sitting U.S. president with well-known ties to the British monarchy, the comments immediately add another layer to the Sussexes' return.
Trump is not simply observing the family's reunion from a distance.
He is openly saying that he believes the couple crossed a line.
“I WOULD NOT HAVE TAKEN THEM BACK”
Then came the line that may generate the most discussion.
Trump said:
“If I were the royal family, I would not have taken them back.”
It is important to understand what Trump was — and was not — saying.
He was not announcing a royal policy.
He has no authority over Harry and Meghan's position within the British monarchy.
The formal status of the Sussexes remains a matter for the British Royal Family and the relevant institutions.
In fact, after their return, King Charles' household formally reaffirmed that Harry and Meghan remain non-working royals and private citizens rather than returning members of the working monarchy.
So Trump's comment is best understood as his personal view of how the Royal Family handled the Sussexes' return.
And it is an unusually blunt one.
Harry and Meghan Are Back — But Not as Working Royals
The timing makes Trump's remarks even more interesting.
Harry and Meghan returned to Britain in late August after spending roughly six years living in California. Their children, Archie and Lilibet, also returned with them.
The move has generated immediate questions about where the family will live, how long they intend to remain in Britain and what their relationship with the Royal Family will look like.
But one thing is already clear.
Their return has not restored them to working royal status.
A letter issued on behalf of King Charles reiterated that Harry and Meghan remain non-working members of the Royal Family and that their charitable activities are conducted privately.
That creates a fascinating contradiction.
The Sussexes are physically back in Britain.
They are closer to the Royal Family.
Their children are expected to build a greater connection with the country.
Harry has already made public appearances in Britain and spoken about being happy to be back.
Yet institutionally, the couple remains outside the working monarchy.
Trump's comments land directly in that space.
A Return That Has Already Changed the Conversation
Harry's return has also been accompanied by renewed attention to the family's security arrangements.
After the couple returned, the Royal and VIP Executive Committee began reconsidering their publicly funded security arrangements, including separate risk assessments for Harry and Meghan.
Their children also changed schools shortly after beginning at their initial school, with the family saying the decision followed discussions with their security team about practicalities surrounding the arrangements.
So this is not simply a story about a famous couple moving back across the Atlantic.
Their return has raised questions about security, schooling, housing, royal status and the future of their relationship with the monarchy.
And now Trump has inserted himself into that conversation.
Trump’s Longstanding Relationship With the Royal Family
There is also history behind Trump's comments.
Trump has repeatedly spoken warmly about Queen Elizabeth II.
During his 2019 state visit to Britain, he publicly described his relationship with the queen as very good and recalled spending time with her at Buckingham Palace.
Trump has also developed a relationship with King Charles over the years.
He met Charles during his earlier political career when Charles was Prince of Wales, and the two have met again since Charles became king.
In 2026, Trump hosted Charles and Queen Camilla at the White House during their state visit to the United States.
That history helps explain why Trump was particularly complimentary when discussing the king.
His criticism of Harry and Meghan came alongside praise for Charles and memories of Elizabeth.
The contrast was impossible to miss.
Harry and Meghan’s Past Is Still Part of Their Present
The Sussexes' departure from royal life has never been a simple story.
Harry and Meghan stepped back from working royal duties in 2020 and moved to the United States.
Their subsequent interviews and public projects brought renewed scrutiny to their relationship with the Royal Family.
Now, after years in California, they are back in Britain.
That means old questions have returned with them.
Can Harry rebuild a relationship with his family?
Can Meghan establish a more comfortable place in Britain?
How will the couple balance private life with renewed public attention?
And how will their return coexist with the Royal Family's decision to keep them outside the working monarchy?
Those questions existed before Trump's remarks.
But his comments have given the story a fresh political dimension.
The Palace Has Drawn Its Own Line
Trump may say he would not have welcomed the Sussexes back.
But the actual decision has already been made by the Royal Family.
Harry and Meghan are back.
King Charles has maintained contact with his son.
But the palace has also made clear that their return does not mean a restoration of working royal duties or privileges.
That distinction may ultimately be more important than Trump's opinion.
The Sussexes can live in Britain without returning to official royal life.
They can spend time with family without becoming working royals.
And they can rebuild personal relationships while remaining institutionally separate from the monarchy.
That appears to be the arrangement taking shape.
But Trump’s Message Is Hard to Ignore
For all the uncertainty surrounding Harry and Meghan's future in Britain, Trump's position is remarkably straightforward.
He says he is happy they left America for Britain.
He says he was “not a fan.”
He says he believes they treated the Royal Family with “great disrespect.”
And he says that, if he were in the Royal Family's position, he would not have welcomed them back.
Those are Trump's views.
But they are now part of the much larger story surrounding the Sussexes' return.
Because Harry and Meghan may have crossed the Atlantic again.
The bigger question is whether the old royal divide crossed the Atlantic with them.
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And as the couple begins another chapter in Britain, one thing is already clear:
Coming home does not necessarily mean going back to where they started.
