Let’s be honest, of all the people who hold a grudge against Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, we’re sure that – ordinarily – Donald Trump’s antipathy wouldn’t give them much cause for concern. In fact, as loud and proud Democrats and Trump critics, they’d probably wear it as a badge of honour. However, despite all that’s happened these past weeks, the former president might actually be headed for re-election in November… and that spells big trouble for the transatlantic couple.
After all, with Harry’s visa status already under serious scrutiny, the Republican candidate – who has recently been found guilty of falsifying business records – might make it his mission to make their lives in the US as difficult as possible, should he win back the keys to the White House. And even if he doesn’t petition to get them deported, his presence promises to cast an unsettling shadow on their sunny lives in California. According to insiders, Harry and Meghan are hoping for the best, and preparing for the worst – and that means working out where to go with their children, Archie, five, and Lilibet, three, in tow if the proverbial really does hit the fan later this year and the US gets another serving of President Trump.
“It absolutely astounds them that he’s in a position to still run for president,” says an insider close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who have closely aligned themselves with the Democratic Party since leaving the UK for the US in 2020. “Although it seems implausible that he’d actually win, even with the support of his rabid fan base, they’re still facing up to the fact that they need to come up with a contingency plan if the worst case scenario does come to pass. Trump has been very clear that he hates Harry and Meghan, so – if he’s in charge and pulling the strings with immigration – it’s safe to say he’ll do his best to make life as hard as possible for both of them. They’re going to have to talk to their advisors and work out what to do in the event that they do have to quit the country. Which of course is the last thing they want, but one comfort is that they know from talking to their Hollywood friends that they certainly wouldn’t be alone.”
Earlier this year, Harry’s visa status – which he’s never revealed – was called into question, after the Conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation filed a lawsuit against the Department for Security, demanding that “law enforcement” documents pertaining to Harry’s application be made public. Their complaint was that Harry’s drug use, which he himself revealed in his 2023 memoir Spare, admitting he’d tried marijuana, cocaine and psychedelic mushrooms, should have barred him from ever being given a US visa – but that he’d either lied about previously taking drugs, or the government was “providing special treatment to celebrities”. In March, a judge ruled that he would review the documents privately, and would come back with his decision – which is still expected at any time.
In the meantime, lawyers have apparently reassured Harry that the current government is firmly on his side, but one person who has taken umbrage with the issue is the former The Apprentice host himself. In March, he called for “appropriate action” to be taken against Prince Harry and railed against the possibility that the prince had been given any “special privileges”.
“We’ll have to see if [Homeland Security] know something about the drugs,” he said in an interview with GB News. “And if he lied, they’ll have to take appropriate action.” He also told his supporters at a Conservative conference earlier this year that he “wouldn’t protect” Prince Harry, whom he met in 2019, while visiting the late Queen Elizabeth on a state visit to the UK, lamenting, “He betrayed the Queen. That’s unforgivable. He would be on his own if it was down to me.”
Indeed, Trump’s verbal attacks against Harry and Meghan are part of a wider attempt to denigrate President Biden’s administration, which – Trump says – has given the Sussexes preferential treatment. And while it’s unlikely he could wield the power to actually have them deported, especially as – despite his estrangement from King Charles – Harry is still the King’s son, it’s fair to say that Trump’s hostility towards them has caused them to feel unsettled on US turf. Given that they left the UK for pastures new, and later accused the monarchy of being hostile and unfriendly towards them, we’re told that’s a bitter pill for Harry and Meghan to swallow.
“If Trump does win, they fear he’s going to cause trouble for a lot of people, not just them – but they presume they’d be high targets because he’s been pretty open about his disdain for them,” says our source. “They fear it would be a disaster for democracy, and on a personal level, they’d have to leave America. Trump has proven with all his petty battles that he’s more than willing to entertain the ridiculous. That’s why they’re sitting down now to prepare for the unthinkable. They count themselves fortunate to have allies and supporters in countries all over the world, so – if worse comes to worst – they will have plenty of options.”
Speaking of those options, there are a few top contenders. Unsurprisingly, returning to the UK is out of the question – not just for them, but for Harry’s embittered family. Right now, Canada would be top of the list; not only was it Meghan’s home for seven years while she starred on Suits, but it was also a safe haven for them after leaving the UK, before they officially settled in the US. Plus, it’s close enough to Hollywood to keep them connected to all the power players as they continue to expand their empire. Meanwhile, their recent trip to Nigeria, which Meghan called “home” after discovering she is 43 per cent Nigerian, is also a tempting place to spend more time in the future, as is Germany, which hosted Harry’s Invictus Games last year to great success.
For the moment, we’re told, they’re keeping everything crossed that Biden prevails in November, and that they can rest easy. But until then, there’s an unavoidable sense of unease permeating through their Montecito mansion.