Meghaissance: how Archie and Lilibet are driving the Sussexes’ UK return
Where’s my castle? Where’s my pony? Those are perfectly reasonable questions for a young prince or princess to ask - and now Archie and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor are about to get the answers as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex splash down on a sceptical Britain. So what will the Meghaissance actually look like? Jacquelin Magnay joins us from London.
Read more about this story at theaustralian.com.au and see the video by subscribing to our YouTube channel.
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This episode of The Front is presented by Claire Harvey, produced by Kristen Amiet and edited by Lia Tsamoglou. Our team includes Tiffany Dimmack, Joshua Burton and Jasper Leak, who also composed our music.
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Speaker 1: From The Australian, here's what's on the front. I'm Claire Harvey.
Speaker 1: It's Thursday, August 27, 2026. The federal government is to
Speaker 1: launch a new crackdown on international student visas, family reunion
Speaker 1: and overstayers as part of a bid to get net
Speaker 1: overseas migration down. A new security treaty to push China's
Speaker 1: influence out of the Pacific Islands. That's the plan Australia's
Speaker 1: cooking up with the Solomon Islands. Those exclusives by Geoff
Speaker 1: Chambers and Ben Packham are live now at theaustralian.com.au. Where's
Speaker 1: my castle? Where's my pony? Those are perfectly reasonable questions
Speaker 1: for a young prince or princess to ask. And now
Speaker 1: Archie and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor are about to get the answers
Speaker 1: as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex splash down on
Speaker 1: a sceptical Britain. So what will the Megasants actually look like?
Speaker 1: Jacqueline Magne is here in just a moment.
Speaker 2: Could it herald the beginning of an end to the
Speaker 2: royal rift between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and
Speaker 2: the royal family?
Speaker 1: The kids were accepted into the school that they wanted
Speaker 1: and the possibility that the Duchess would get back into acting. Well,
Speaker 1: a new season of Rivals is about to start and
Speaker 1: this time it's real life. The Sussexes versus the Wales.
Speaker 1: At least that's how it's being portrayed by some in
Speaker 1: Britain who don't necessarily want Harry and Meghan to come
Speaker 1: back to the United Kingdom. Jacqueline Magne is the Australian's
Speaker 1: Europe correspondent and she covers the Royals for us. Jack,
Speaker 1: how would you describe the mood as Britain comes out
Speaker 1: of a long, hot summer? They're all very sweaty and
Speaker 1: they're a bit tired. Are they keen for the Sussexes
Speaker 1: to come back? Oh, not at all.
Speaker 2: It's like we don't need this drama. We've got too
Speaker 2: much going on in the country already and I think
Speaker 2: most people think we don't need this hassle. Please just
Speaker 2: stay in the United States.
Speaker 1: When the Sussexes were in Britain during the summer, they
Speaker 1: posted some, not surprisingly, beautiful kind of golden hour videos
Speaker 1: of themselves at Charles Spencer's estate in Northamptonshire. This is
Speaker 1: where Princess Diana grew up and where she's buried now.
Speaker 1: Is that a signal? Do you think that's where they're
Speaker 1: going to live?
Speaker 2: There was some indication that that might give them the
Speaker 2: privacy and the security that they need if they did
Speaker 2: go to that estate. And certainly Charles Spencer would be
Speaker 2: welcoming for them to go there. But I think more likely,
Speaker 2: certainly Megan would be more keen to go towards the
Speaker 2: Cotswolds area. I mean, it's gorgeous there. It's not that
Speaker 2: far from London. And it's also where she has established
Speaker 2: friendship groups. And of course, Megan's best mate, Marcus Anderson,
Speaker 2: has property interests there through Soho House. He was instrumental
Speaker 2: in getting Harry and they go back a long way,
Speaker 2: she would feel very comfortable there. And so my sense
Speaker 2: is that is the area that they'll end up. But
Speaker 2: of course, over here, there's a blackout on where they
Speaker 2: will be. And the media organisations have been told in
Speaker 2: no uncertain terms that they're not to reveal where the
Speaker 2: location is. Now, I think this blackout will last all
Speaker 2: of maybe two minutes. When school goes back next week
Speaker 2: and the young Prince Archie, who's seven, and Princess Lilibet,
Speaker 2: who's five, turn up at school, social media will be
Speaker 2: awash with this. So I don't know that they're able
Speaker 2: to keep a lid on exactly where they're going to
Speaker 2: be living for very long.
Speaker 1: We all know they've been on a global privacy tour,
Speaker 1: the Sussexes, and so they will want to keep that secret.
Speaker 1: But there is also a real reason for the need
Speaker 1: for some privacy. Britons are still reeling from the shocking
Speaker 1: murder of a politician, Anne Widdicombe, in her home.
Speaker 3: Investigating whether the murder of an outspoken former conservative politician
Speaker 3: was an act of terrorism.
Speaker 1: And it can be a violent place, Britain, and it
Speaker 1: is scary to think of the risk that they face
Speaker 1: when they do come home. Harry's been in this battle
Speaker 1: with government and with Buckingham Palace about who would pay
Speaker 1: for security. What do you think will happen? Will the
Speaker 1: government stump up for 24-hour armed security for this pair?
Speaker 2: I don't think so. It's such a political potato at
Speaker 2: the moment. I think King Charles will be the one
Speaker 2: that ends up digging deep into his pockets. I think
Speaker 2: the longstanding security issues are if Harry is over here,
Speaker 2: as a non-working royal, and like all other non-working royals,
Speaker 2: they don't have automatic 24-hour security. Now, the argument could
Speaker 2: be he served two tours of Afghanistan, he's been involved
Speaker 2: in conflict, and therefore there may be people who have
Speaker 2: some certain grievances against him, and notwithstanding the whole Megxit
Speaker 2: catastrophe that's happened over the last six years. So, He
Speaker 2: could argue a case that he has a need for
Speaker 2: stronger security than any other non-working royal. But then there's
Speaker 2: this fine line, is he a royal or is he
Speaker 2: a celebrity? And as a celebrity that's making private income,
Speaker 2: earning money off being a royal, then the taxpayer is saying, well,
Speaker 2: maybe you should be the one that funds your security,
Speaker 2: not us.
Speaker 1: Coming up, what about Harry's massive legal bill? They definitely
Speaker 1: need private income because he's just been ordered to pay
Speaker 1: a part of the legal costs of the male... newspaper group,
Speaker 1: which he unsuccessfully sued for a breach of privacy.
Speaker 3: The judge dismissing every single one of the Duke of
Speaker 3: Sussex's claims, saying that there just wasn't enough evidence to
Speaker 3: prove that the papers had obtained their information illegally.
Speaker 1: Is that money going to come from the King as well?
Speaker 2: I don't know because Harry has had several sources of income.
Speaker 2: He's had an inheritance from the Queen Mother. He's had
Speaker 2: an inheritance from his own mother. And he's been able
Speaker 2: to use that money and also leverage it with some
Speaker 2: private income coming in through their foundation, the Archwell Foundation.
Speaker 2: And then you've got Megan's own jam making business.
Speaker 1: Of course, there will be fruit preserves. I think we're
Speaker 1: all clear at this point that jam is my jam.
Speaker 2: But there's so many more products. And, you know, she
Speaker 2: hawks her clothes off and gets a commission of whatever
Speaker 2: she wears now. And so they do have some income,
Speaker 2: but of course, they're outgoings and they're style of their lifestyle,
Speaker 2: the extravagance of their lifestyle, really means that they're spending
Speaker 2: and dipping into their wallets enormously. So I think by
Speaker 2: coming to the UK, it may be a little bit
Speaker 2: cheaper for them if some of that security cost is
Speaker 2: covered by the king. And of course, the king will
Speaker 2: be thrilled that he will have more access to his
Speaker 2: two grandchildren, that he might be able to have some
Speaker 2: more private conversations with Harry. But the big elephant in
Speaker 2: the room is the relationship between Harry and William. And
Speaker 2: that is just a no-go zone. The two don't talk.
Speaker 2: They don't want to talk. Certainly, William has no interest
Speaker 2: in having anything to do with his brother. He doesn't
Speaker 2: trust him. And he doesn't feel that mending bridges would
Speaker 2: actually be in the monarchy's best interest in the long term.
Speaker 2: So therefore, that rift is going to continue. And it's
Speaker 2: going to be perhaps even more awkward in the coming year.
Speaker 2: if they're both in the same country and within closer
Speaker 2: proximity to each other, then certainly than what Prince William
Speaker 2: would like.
Speaker 1: That animosity between the brothers is partly about their wives,
Speaker 1: isn't it? In Harry's book, he wrote that William had
Speaker 1: expressed reservations about Meghan. He wrote that Meghan didn't like
Speaker 1: Kate or that Kate had been kind of cold and
Speaker 1: icy and had rebuffed Meghan on things like borrowing her
Speaker 1: lip gloss and fight over kids' christening outfits or wedding outfits.
Speaker 1: Is that something that Harry, with his considerable charm, can
Speaker 1: possibly rebuild?
Speaker 2: Well, Harry and Catherine used to have a fabulous relationship.
Speaker 2: In fact, they seemed really close. And Catherine was the
Speaker 2: one who was seen to be the person that could
Speaker 2: bring the two brothers together until it emerged that in
Speaker 2: his book, Spare, that the royal that he was accusing
Speaker 2: of being racist was Princess Catherine. And so ever since
Speaker 2: that moment, there's just been complete no-go zone as far
Speaker 2: as Harry's concerned. So I think Harry may have crossed
Speaker 2: the line there that I don't think William will ever
Speaker 2: come back and mend the bridges there. Publicly, there could
Speaker 2: be a situation where they are at certain events together.
Speaker 2: I'm thinking maybe Trooping of the Colour or Christmas at
Speaker 2: Sandringham where they're walking to the church, some certain public
Speaker 2: event private moments that the royal family have but I
Speaker 2: don't think that you will see them walking in tandem
Speaker 2: together so it's going to be a very interesting something
Speaker 2: that will keep newspapers enthralled for the next little while
Speaker 2: and the public is quite keen to know as well.
Speaker 1: We're going to get a lot more jam content, I'd say, Jack.
Speaker 1: There'll be things being wrapped in Japanese scarves and dried
Speaker 1: flowers as far as the eye can see on Megan's
Speaker 1: social feeds. How are they going to navigate this idea
Speaker 1: of working for an income and also showing up at
Speaker 1: royal events consistently? Kind of working as royals. I mean,
Speaker 1: this is the model that they pitched to the Queen
Speaker 1: before 2020 when they left and she rejected. Yes.
Speaker 2: Well, it does look like it's a half in, half
Speaker 2: out model, doesn't it, by just appearance. But I think
Speaker 2: the line is going to be drawn that they won't
Speaker 2: be involved in any royal tours. There won't be any
Speaker 2: official royal engagements. There could be some private engagements by Harry,
Speaker 2: especially because he does have some associations with some charities.
Speaker 2: There's just a handful that he's involved with. So he
Speaker 2: may get involved with those, but there won't be any
Speaker 2: extra work. And he will only be seen with the
Speaker 2: royals when there's these private occasions, when they're going to
Speaker 2: church on Christmas Day, or maybe it's the king's birthday
Speaker 2: and trooping of the colour, they're standing out on the
Speaker 2: balcony watching the red arrows fly over. And Meghan and
Speaker 2: Harry want that. They want to be seen to be
Speaker 2: closer to the crown because that's where their cachet is.
Speaker 2: That is where they need to show that they have
Speaker 2: some commercial benefit, that they are close to the monarchy.
Speaker 2: Harry is fifth in line to the throne. It's reminding
Speaker 2: everybody that he is a royal member and that his
Speaker 2: children are also royal members. And I think that's the
Speaker 2: critical thing here. I think that's driving it, actually. I
Speaker 2: think it's Meghan and Harry wanting the kids to have
Speaker 2: a royal upbringing. They feel that they're entitled to it.
Speaker 2: You've got to think that the kids themselves now are questioning, hey,
Speaker 2: I'm a prince, I'm a princess. Where's my castle? Where's
Speaker 2: my pony? And I think there's a lot of pressure
Speaker 2: on them as parents to come up with the goods.
Speaker 1: Well, not many parents can actually make that dream come true,
Speaker 1: but these two can. Thank you, Jack.
Speaker 2: Thanks so much, Clare.
Speaker 1: Jacqueline Magne is The Australian's Europe correspondent. You can read
Speaker 1: her reporting and analysis about the Royals and the rest
Speaker 1: of Europe right now at theaustralian.com.au.