Dropping in the US, Hated in the UK: Meghan Markle's Global Popularity Crisis Allegedly Reaches Disaster Levels

Meghan Markle's planned UK visit next month has been framed by royal commentators as a risk-laden return, with fresh claims that the Duchess of Sussex could face a chilly reception when she comes back with Prince Harry and their children for an Invictus Games event in Birmingham.

The main point of friction, according to one expert quoted in The Sun, is not just the palace politics but the possibility that the Sussexes are still being judged for the way they left royal life behind.

The couple's trip is expected to centre on the one-year countdown to the Invictus Games 2027, which Harry founded and which is due to be held in Birmingham. Reports carried in early 2026 said Meghan may join Harry on the visit, though the trip has also been linked to ongoing questions around security and the couple's ability to travel to the UK together.

Meghan Markle And The UK Return Risk

Royal author Phil Dampier told The Sun that Meghan believes 'most people in the UK are fair and reasonable,' but argued that many would still not forgive her for her role in taking Harry away from royal duties and for disrespecting the royals. That is the sort of line that lands hard in Britain, where opinion on the Sussexes has remained stubbornly volatile and every return tends to reopen the same old wounds.

Dampier said the couple were taking 'a big risk' because, in his view, some people might boo them. He also suggested King Charles would still want a better relationship with his 'prodigal son' and to see his grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet, if the visit goes smoothly and the reception is warmer than expected.

The Sussexes are no strangers to a hostile crowd or a sceptical press, but a public walkabout in Britain always carries its own weather. One bad shout from the sidelines and the whole thing can feel, frankly, a bit mad.

Meghan Markle And The US Popularity Question

The chatter about Meghan's UK return has also been tied to a separate line of criticism from TV host Mark Dolan, who said the couple's business ventures are struggling and that they want to 'recalibrate with Royal credentials.' Speaking on The Sun's Royal Exclusive, Dolan argued that the optics matter to the Sussexes because 'they need the optics, they need the titles, they need the status, they need the elevated position it gives them.'

Dolan also claimed Meghan's popularity is dropping in the United States, a comment that echoes broader reporting in recent months about her public standing across the Atlantic. A Newsweek report published earlier this month said YouGov polling in the first quarter of 2026 found Meghan with a 29 per cent favourable rating among American respondents and 27 per cent unfavourable, a net score of +2, down from +15 in the third quarter of 2025.

Harry, The Royals And What Comes Next

Harry's return to Britain next month is being linked to the Invictus Games countdown event, and reports have suggested Meghan and the children may travel with him. That would mark another highly watched appearance for the family, whose every move in the UK still attracts intense scrutiny more than four years after stepping back from frontline royal duties.

The broader royal backdrop is not exactly soothing. Dampier's comments about Charles wanting a better relationship with Harry underline a familiar tension inside the family, where personal contact, public duty and old resentments are never far apart.

Whether the visit produces reconciliation, awkward optics or just another round of royal noise will depend on how the Sussexes are received on the ground.

The attention is less about what Meghan will say than how Britain will react when she arrives. That may sound like old stuff by now, but with the Sussexes, old stuff is never really old. It is only waiting for the next flight.