U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he was “happy” Prince Harry and his family had left the United States and returned to Britain.
“I am happy about it. I was not a fan,” Trump said in the Oval Office on September 3 when asked about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to leave California after six years.
Harry, Meghan and their two children returned to Britain at the end of August. The couple had lived in the United States since stepping down as working members of the royal family in 2020.
Trump said his opposition to the couple stemmed from what he viewed as their treatment of the monarchy.
“I thought they treated the royal family with great disrespect. I didn’t like it,” he said, referring to his “good relationship” with the late Queen Elizabeth and King Charles, who is receiving treatment for cancer.
The president directed particularly strong criticism towards Meghan, saying: “I didn’t like the way she acted. I thought she was terribly disrespectful.”
Harry and Meghan have previously spoken publicly about their difficulties within the royal family. During a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey after their move to the United States, Harry accused the institution of failing to support them.
Meghan, whose mother is Black and whose father is white, said that while she was pregnant with their son, there were “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born” within the royal family.
Prince William later rejected allegations of racism, telling reporters: “we’re not racist.”
Harry has also attributed the couple’s departure from Britain to intense media scrutiny and the government’s decision not to provide his family with official security.
Despite returning to the country, Harry and Meghan are expected to retain their status as non-working royals. A person close to the couple said last month that they planned to live outside London for an extended period.
Their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, are expected to attend school in Britain.
The reason behind the family’s decision to return has not been made clear, although Harry has previously expressed a desire for his children to spend more time in the country.
“If I were the royal family, I would not have taken them back,” Trump added.
