'They're Broke and Don't Like Trump': White House Official's Wife on Why Prince Harry Is Leaving the US

Prince Harry and Meghan are taking their children out of California this month and setting up home in Britain. Within hours of the news breaking, the wife of one of Donald Trump's most senior aides had supplied a motive.

Katie Miller, a podcast host married to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, wrote on X on 19 August: 'They are moving back to Britain because they don't like President Trump.'

She was sharing People's exclusive on the relocation. That report noted the couple had made no secret of their unease with the current White House as the midterm elections approach.

A second theory surfaced the same day, that the family had simply run short of money. A US conservative columnist wrote that she could not decide whether they were leaving because they were 'relatively broke' or for some other reason.

The broadcaster Megyn Kelly joined in, replying to a post declaring Megxit reversed: 'We've done our time here in America my dear friend!'

The Sussexes have said nothing. What is established is a relocation for an extended period beginning this month, to a private, non-royal home base in Britain. Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, are set to begin school there in September. King Charles was told on Sunday 16 August.

They are keeping both the Montecito estate they bought in 2020 for $14.65M (£10.8M) and their holiday property in Portugal. The location of the new house and the school is being closely guarded.

The friction with Washington, at least, is documented. Trump said in a January interview that NATO allies had stayed back from the front lines in Afghanistan. Harry, who served two tours there, answered through his spokesperson that 457 British service personnel were killed and that 'I lost friends there.'

What Prince Harry's Move Back to Britain Does to His Tax Position

Almost everything the couple earns is made in the United States. Where they reside determines which country gets to tax it.

Britain abolished the non-domicile remittance basis on 6 April 2025. From that date, every UK resident is taxed on the arising basis on worldwide income and gains, HMRC guidance states.

One exemption survives, and it is narrowly drawn. Relief goes to a 'qualifying new resident', which HMRC defines as someone in one of their first four years of UK residence following at least 10 consecutive tax years of non-UK residence. Harry and Meghan left Britain in 2020. That is about six tax years, not 10.

Residence is settled by day counts under the statutory residence test, not by where the furniture ends up. When any charge begins therefore depends on how much of the year they spend in the country. Neither has commented on their tax affairs and no filings are public.

For Meghan, the calculation does not move. American citizens are taxed by the IRS on worldwide income wherever they live, and the filing duty survives even where credits and exclusions cancel out the bill.

Harry's American status has never been confirmed. The Heritage Foundation has pursued freedom of information litigation since 2023 over how he was admitted in 2020, after he described past drug use in his book Spare. A court filing on 10 August recorded that the State Department identified 18 relevant records on 30 July and withheld every one, with 289 still under review.

Where the Sussexes Earn, and What the UK Move Changes

The businesses are not following them across the Atlantic. Archewell Productions and As Ever, Meghan's lifestyle label, have no imminent plans to relocate or shut down, an insider close to the couple told Variety. She is expected to keep running the brand from Britain, according to NBC News.

What has changed is the shape of the deal underneath them. The Netflix arrangement signed in 2020, put by industry estimates at about $100M (£74M), was renewed late last year as a first-look agreement rather than an overall deal, according to Deadline. The streamer also withdrew as an investor in As Ever, and no third series of With Love, Meghan is planned.

Netflix content chief Bela Bajaria has pushed back on the idea of a split, saying: 'We still have a relationship with them.'

Security is a cost they carry themselves. Harry lost his challenge to the downgrade of his taxpayer-funded police protection in 2025 and said the ruling made it impossible to bring his wife and children to Britain. Asked about the family's arrangements this week, the Home Office said it does not discuss individual security provision.

Their own finances remain off the public record. Archewell's US charity filings are the only published figures, and those cover the foundation rather than Harry and Meghan. Buckingham Palace has not addressed the claims made online, and their royal standing is unchanged: both remain non-working members of the family, with no return to official duties.