Meghan and Harry are returning to the UK this summer (Image: Getty)

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are energised … the Sussexes are reported to be returning to the UK. But if they believe their return could finally spark their ‘half-in, half-out’ dream, they have another thing coming.

‘Megxit’ was sparked after they demanded a unique hybrid model of being financially independent working royals in the UK and US – so they could rake in cash from their new ‘Sussex’ brand.

With an exasperated sigh, the late Queen Elizabeth II ruled their “half-in, half-out” proposal unworkable as one cannot “commercially trade” on Royal status while still serving the Crown.

Harry, 41, and his actress wife Meghan, 44, are rumoured to be flying into Birmingham this summer to launch a year’s countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games, which will take place in Britain’s second city.

Meghan has not been back to the UK since 2022, for the late Queen’s funeral, but friends claim she is now “energised” and orchestrating a “high-powered” return alongside her husband.

People close to Meghan say Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s troubles have “only strengthened her resolve,” adding: “She feels vindicated. There’s a sense of, ‘We tried to tell you’.”

From afar they have watched the downfall of the House of York and the pressure ramp up on his older sibling Prince William to sort the mess – meanwhile they are probably relieved to be 5,500 miles away in California.

But if Meghan and Harry think that Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s shame and humiliation opens up a slot for a new royal couple to fill the void, they have another thing coming.

Andrew and Fergie’s popularity has quite rightly dropped off a cliff – but if the Sussexes think they’re at the top looking down from a lofty position in the hearts of the British public, they’re deluded.

Firstly, William is almost certain to continue with the current slimmed down monarchy of just five or six working royals including Princess Anne, and the always reliable Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Prince Edward and Sophie.

It is increasingly unlikely Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie will play any role going forward, not that they are working royals right now anyway.

Secondly, Harry and Meghan’s brand of left wing ‘social wellness’ activism has been exposed.

Meghan at a gala in February (Image: Getty)

The pair rode the wave of woke but people now realise the world’s real problems of war, poverty, polarisation and mass migration cannot be solved by the campus politics of correct pronouns and decrying 500-year-old colonisation.

Right now the Sussexes offer no different meaningless platitudes than a Hollywood actor accepting an award and shouting that “we are all immigrants” or “down with hate”.

Also look at their UK-wide popularity.

According to a January 2026 poll by YouGov, only 31% of the UK have positive views on Prince Harry while that figure is just 19% for Meghan.

Meanwhile 60% view Harry negatively and that rises to 66% for Meghan.

Even Eugenie and Beatrice are more popular – and they flew to New York in 2009 to have lunch with pervert Epstein after his release from prison.

So if Harry and Meghan think the streets of Birmingham will be lined with well-wishers after they turned their back on the nation, they are stark raving bonkers.