Meghan Markle is ‘incredibly nervous’ about facing royals but ‘wants to show they can’t trample over her’, claims expert
MEGHAN Markle is said to be “incredibly nervous” about facing the royal family again, according to a royal insider.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have reportedly purchased a property in Portugal so the couple will have a European base for UK visits.
However, Meghan is said to be wary of seeing Prince Harry’s UK family after years of tension.
A source claimed to Closer: “Following reports that she and Harry have recently purchased a property in Portugal, a source reveals that their new European home means that Meghan will be close enough to fly back to the UK and finally face the royals in what is likely to be an explosive showdown.
“The wounds Meghan suffered from her experiences in the Royal Family cut very deep.
“Since all the drama over her and Harry’s split from The Firm, she’s been incredibly nervous about facing them again. But she now accepts it’s got to be done.
“Meghan’s stance is that if Harry is going to go back and make a deal with the royals, she needs to be part of it as well. She wants to show them they can’t just trample all over her and then have Harry come back on his own, as though she can be tossed aside.”
It’s now nearly five years since Meghan and Harry stepped back as senior working royals, and the Duchess of Sussex has only visited the UK twice in this time.
The visits both took place in 2022, with one for the Queen’s Jubilee, and the second for her funeral.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry has undertaken four visits in 2024, with the most recent being in September for the WellChild Awards in London.
During the whistle stop visit he did not meet up with Prince William and King Charles, according to reports.
Harry’s ‘new home’
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex rumoured luxurious property is located in Alentejo.
The couple – who live with their two kids in California – are said to have splashed out on the home in Portugal after being asked to vacate their former UK home Frogmore Cottage by King Charles two years ago.
It is said to be close to Harry’s cousin Princess Eugenie, Jack, August, two, and Ernest, five months, who are said to be splitting their time between living at the CostaTerra Golf and Ocean Club and their life back in the UK.
The reason for the move is Jack’s job, as he is doing marketing, sales and promotion for property entrepreneur Mike Meldman, who is managing the 300-home development there.
The purchase may allow the Sussexes to acquire a “Golden Visa”, where they would have access to the EU’s Schengen area, reports the Daily Mail.
Sussex Christmas plans
This comes as Prince Harry has reportedly not been invited to spend Christmas at Sandringham with the rest of the royal family.
The Duke of Sussex last spent the festive period with his family six years ago, and has only done two with wife Meghan Markle.
Typically the royal family flock to Sandringham for the Christmas period and attend church together on Christmas day.
Prince Harry and Meghan have spent a total of two Christmases together with the extended royal family for the traditional celebrations.
Since all the drama over her and Harry’s split from The Firm, she’s been incredibly nervous about facing them again. But she now accepts it’s got to be done
Closer source
The first was in 2017 when they were an engaged couple, and the second was in 2018 following their royal wedding.
They spent Christmas privately in 2019 on Vancouver Island, just before they announced they were stepping down as senior royals in 2020.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have reportedly been extended an invite to spend Christmas with Harry’s uncle Charles Spencer at Althorp House in Northamptonshire.
However, they would be missing out on seeing their extended family.
A timeline of Prince Harry's family feud
The first hints of friction reportedly came after William was introduced to Meghan when she was staying at Kensington Palace.
Once she’d returned home to Canada, William and Harry sat down for a brother-to-brother chat.
He knew Harry was already head-over-heels for her but it has been claimed he advised him to take it slowly.
The younger prince reportedly didn’t take too kindly to the advice, with one royal source saying he “went mental”.
Then in June 2019 Harry and Meghan officially split off from the charity they shared with William and Kate.
The Royal Foundation will be divided between the Sussexes and Cambridges as the couples focus on their own separate charitable endeavours.
Prince William and Prince Harry first established the Royal Foundation in 2009 before Kate joined two years later shortly after their engagement was announced.
The trio would often appear together at events and the Foundation had huge successes with projects like the Invictus Games for injured veterans and the mental health Heads Together campaign.
The Royal Foundation said the decision was made following the conclusion of a review into its structure – but added both couples will continue to work together in the future.
Harry and Meg were living in close proximity to Kate and Wills within the Kensington Palace estate, but they switched to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor before baby Archie was born.
The move further increased rumours of a fallout.
Harry also hinted in his ITV documentary “Harry and Meghan, An African Journey” that he and his brother had grown apart.
In 2021, Harry and Meghan give their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey where Harry accused his dad of cutting him off financially.
Harry then jetted back to UK to join William in unveiling a statue to their mother Princess Diana in the grounds of Kensington Palace. But sources claimed William didn’t want to attend the memorial amid their ongoing rift.
In 2022, just before their grandmother the Queen died, sources claimed Kate acts as a “peacemaker” between the brothers.
Harry claimed his brother “knocked him to the floor” during an argument about Meghan, in his memoir.
In Spare, Harry said William branded Meghan “rude” and “difficult” during a row.
Harry alleged William “grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and … knocked me to the floor”.
He said he was left with a visible injury to his back following the argument in 2019 at Nottingham Cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace, where he was living at the time.
In January this year, Harry flew in to be with Charles after the monarch’s shock cancer diagnosis.
Harry flew back to the US the following day – without seeing Wills.
In May he visited the UK for a three-day visit without seeing King Charles or Prince William.