OPINION: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s future in Britain may have been determined by pivotal moment during their quasi-royal trip on Thursday.
OPINION
The duke and duchess visited Nottingham together on Thursday (Image: Getty)
The crowd outside a community recording studio in Nottingham looked sparse in the Thursday morning sunshine. It was hardly a surprise – this was Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s first quasi-royal engagement since returning to Britain, and nobody knew quite what to expect.
Initially, the outlook was bleak. The weather had held, but the vast majority of people gathered outside the venue, to the northeast of the city, were journalists and photographers, with just a handful of bouquet-wielding supporters lining the railings. As this was the couple’s first joint appearance in the UK and Meghan’s first public engagement since the Queen’s funeral in 2022, the stakes were high. Despite not being a royal event, the trip bore all the hallmarks of such – and the image of those traditional barriers bereft of well-wishing hordes would surely have stung.
While the numbers gradually ticked up throughout the morning, and Harry and Meghan’s arrival saw them greet schoolchildren and take flowers from gushing fans, the crowds didn’t hit the hundreds customary at genuine royal engagements until they made their exit. The couple reportedly prefer the term “public figures” to King Charles’s suggestion of “private citizens”, and the reception that followed will have bolstered that ambition.
During the hour they were inside, uncertainties may have mounted about the tenability of their return to Britain. Naturally, any attempt at establishing a brand tied to yet separate from the Royal Family would require a certain degree of support from the British public.
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Travelling to Nottingham, I was prepared for any outcome. Harry and Meghan may have been booed, met by just four or five fans and a massive press pack or, as was the reality, received a genuinely warm reception, from their loyal fan base at least.
Harry and Meghan were met with a warm reception in Nottingham (Image: Getty)
While the Sussexes were in the building, passersby and those who had travelled in from neighbouring towns and villages booed other people exiting before them in anticipation of a sighting. I stood back in the crowd as they left the building, and felt a palpable sense of relief emanating from the couple.
Supporters admitted to becoming emotional and “loving” both the duke and duchess, with more than one hoping to look Meghan in the eye and show that public opinion isn’t completely set against her. Harry and Meghan’s public rhetoric has been doggedly positive, insisting they are happy to be back in Britain and sharing polished, upbeat depictions of family life on this side of the Atlantic online.
For a while, this seemed like a tenuous attempt to shut down rampant speculation about ongoing animosity between the Sussexes and Buckingham Palace, and their dwindling UK popularity ratings – with Meghan’s 65% negativity score languishing just above that of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
The crowds that gathered in Nottingham – admittedly, a relatively safe space for the couple, considering their prior visits and links to local charities – may have lent their hopes for a new life in the UK some real wight. Whether it endures will be another matter. But this trip at least may have gone just about as well as they could have hoped.