PoliticsDonald Trump Revives Meghan Markle Feud as Royal Expert Says 'It Makes Complete Sense That He Would Insert Himself' Amid Sussex's Return to the U.K.
Donald Trump criticized Meghan Markle after she and Prince Harry returned to the U.K.
Sept. 6 2026, Published 3:44 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump is weighing in on Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle’s move back to the U.K. with Prince Harry, and he is not pretending to miss her.
Days after Meghan and Harry returned to the U.K. as private citizens, Trump said he was “happy” about the surprise move and criticized the couple’s relationship with the royal family.
The president renewed his longstanding criticism of the Sussexes’ relationship with the royal family.
“I was happy about it. I was not a fan,” Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with U.S. travel executives. “I thought they treated the royal family with great disrespect.”
He then aimed more directly at Meghan.
“I didn’t like it. I didn’t like the way she acted,” Trump said. “I thought she was terribly disrespectful to the Queen and to King Charles. I don’t know. Maybe I’m different. I wouldn’t have taken them back.”
Donald Trump and the Royals
A royal expert linked Donald Trump’s remarks to his fascination with royal approval.
“We know that Trump is enamored with royalty, and in particular holds King Charles in high regard,” said royal expert and commentator Amanda Matta.
“It makes complete sense that he would insert himself in royal stories when they ‘trend’ as a way to reassert his connection to what he sees as the ‘correct’ side of the issue,” she added.
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Donald Trump’s comments revived memories of his previous clashes with Meghan Markle.
Trump has criticized Meghan before. In 2019, after being told that she had called him “misogynistic” and “divisive” during a 2016 appearance on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, he said he “didn’t know that she was nasty.” In 2020, as the Sussexes moved to California, he said U.S. taxpayers should not pay for their security, writing, “They must pay!”
“His comments are typically devoid of nuance,” Matta noted, “and are based more in where he feels he’s more respected.”
She sees Trump’s interest in the royal family as being tied to the legitimacy he sees in royal recognition.
“Deference from royalty is the ultimate feather in Trump’s cap,” she said, “as we know from his fawning over his ‘unprecedented’ state visit invitation to Windsor.”
A Private Return
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s return to England did not signal a return to working royal life.
Harry and Meghan moved to the U.S. in 2020 after stepping back from senior royal duties. They settled in Montecito, Calif., and built business, media and philanthropic ventures outside the monarchy.
Their return to England, where Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, are enrolled to begin school, does not mean a return to working royal life. Meghan is expected to continue her business ventures and potentially return to acting, while Harry is expected to remain active in his charities.
