Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Have ‘Burnt Bridges Beyond Repair,’ Royal Expert Penny Junor Claims

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have “burnt bridges beyond repair” with the royal family, claims expert Penny Junor. And even if Harry wanted to work his way back in, Meghan does not want that, she claims in an op-ed in The Mirror.

Junor opened by pointing to a balance that all royals must maintain: they are expected to advocate for causes that are important to them but must avoid politics at all costs.

Meghan and Harry have both been quite adept at advocating for causes, even before they got married. Junor pointed to Harry’s life as a royal, during which he advocated for disadvantaged children, which itself sprang from his own difficult childhood. In particular, Harry raised money for children in Africa; at one point some royal experts believed that the monarchy could build from that love of the continent and send him to a post in Lesotho, where he could live the rest of his life in relative anonymity while doing charitable work for kids there.

Meghan, for her part, has a heart for social justice, informed by her being a woman of color.

The problem, as Junor sees it, is that Harry understands how to walk that fine line between advocacy and politics. Meghan does not; she feels the former Suits actress is actually politically ambitious.

“She sees the need for change all around her and is clearly passionate about standing up and being counted. And I wish her well in that. However, I don’t believe that Harry has the same ambition. He is not a political animal,” she said.

Junor also speculated that the day may come when Harry tries to resume life as a royal.

“Maybe one day he will find his way back.”

Unfortunately, she said, Meghan is unlikely to be on board.

“I can’t see Meghan ever wanting a way back,” Junor said.

Looking to the future, the royal biographer pointed to Prince William’s three children: George, Charlotte, and Louis. George will, barring any unforeseen circumstances, one day be the King of England, while his two younger siblings will have to forge lives of their own. Could they follow their Uncle Harry’s lead and retire from the monarchy, move a continent away, and ditch royal protocol about staying out of politics?

If they did, Junor wrote, Britain would be a “poorer place.” However, since it will likely be decades before it becomes an issue, Prince George won’t have to fret about what his younger brother and sister are up to for quite some time.