What’s next for the Sussexes following the Queen’s death?

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been thrust back into royal duties following the death of the Queen. Laura Hampson asks what this means for their future as part of the royal family

Prior to the Queen’s death, Meghan had launched her podcast (Getty)

For the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the timing of the Queen’s death could not have been worse.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were just beginning to make strides with their Californian life and – finally – fulfil some of the many contracts they signed after stepping down as senior members of the royal family in 2020, when news of Her Majesty’s death came.

Just a couple of weeks prior to the Queen’s death at Balmoral on 8 September, Meghan had launched her podcast, Archetypes, with Spotify and sat down for a wide-ranging interview with The Cut. Harry’s tell-all memoir was scheduled for release in November and, two days before Her Majesty’s death, the pair were in Germany marking the one year to go for the 2023 Invictus Games.

After a couple of years finding their feet, it finally felt as if the Sussexes were coming into their own. But then Harry got the call to make his way to Balmoral.

This has halted plans for the Sussexes. Meghan put a pause on her weekly podcast this week after she and Harry stepped out with the newly minted Prince and Princess of Wales last Saturday at Windsor, the “fab four’s” first joint outing since the Sussexes’ departure.

Meghan and Harry also participated in the procession on Wednesday, with Harry joining his brother Prince William and father, King Charles III, walking behind Her Majesty’s coffin as it was transported from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall. Meghan followed in a car with Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and joined Harry in Westminster Hall where they held hands, a public display of affection so rarely offered by the royal family.

Harry and Meghan holding hands at Westminster Hall (Getty Images)

The Sussexes appear to have seamlessly slipped back into royal life, but this was always going to be the case when Her Majesty passed. While Meghan couldn’t make Prince Philip’s funeral in 2021 due to Covid restrictions and being heavily pregnant with daughter Lilibet, even if they hadn’t have been staying in Windsor at the time of Her Majesty’s death and had been at their Californian fortress instead, it’s likely she would have made the transatlantic journey to pay respect to her grandmother-in-law. Harry, of course, was always going to return to be by his brother and father’s sides, despite any rumoured rifts between the three.

But what does this mean for the future of Harry, Meghan and the royal family? While Harry and Meghan will be at the Queen’s funeral on Monday, it is unlikely that Harry’s father becoming King will entice the “spare” to return to royal life. He and Meghan seem content with their new sun-soaked way of living, with their two children and their three dogs. While it’s hard to see any future where the Duke and Duchess would return to royal work full-time, it’s heartening to see them return in a time of need, and for a family to be reunited once more.

Yours,

Laura Hampson

Deputy lifestyle editor