Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s return to the UK has been met with a mixed response, with Netflix star Michael Whitehall sharing his thoughts on the couple’s move to the Cotswolds
Jack Whitehall’s dad has given a two-word verdict on Harry and Meghan’s return(Image: GETTY)
One of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s celebrity neighbours has delivered a scathing assessment of the couple’s arrival in the area.
The Duke and Duchess’s relocation to the UK, at an undisclosed address in the Cotswolds, has sparked considerable debate both nationally and internationally.
And Michael Whitehall, father of comedian Jack Whitehall who appears alongside his son in Netflix’s Travels with My Father, doesn’t appear particularly thrilled.
Michael, 86, who resides in the Cotswolds with his wife Hilary, 68, was addressing Harry and Meghan’s arrival on the couple’s podcast ‘The Wittering Whitehalls’ when his partner asked what he thought, not only about their new neighbours, but also about their relatives Prince William and Princess Catherine.
She revealed: “The big news is that there are some new residents, allegedly, in the Notswolds, North Oxfordshire no less, Michael, our territory.”
After confirming she was referring to Harry and Meghan, Hilary joked: “I haven’t spotted them yet in Waitrose in Banbury, but we live in hope, Michael – well you don’t, because you wouldn’t want to see them, would you?” This prompted Michael to confess: “Well no, probably not.”
Elaborating on his views about the pair’s relocation, including a blunt two-word assessment, he stated: “They’re kind of, for me now, beyond ranting about. I mean they’re not just… They’re non-people really. Not worth my getting upset about. There they are.”
Hilary joked that his views about the Sussexes’ return to the UK had been rather more forceful shortly after the announcement was first made.
She remarked before he offered his perspective: “What I’m a little bit disappointed about is that we didn’t get the nuclear rant that I got when it was announced that they were coming back. You’ve tempered it down now.”
After Michael, whose son Jack is reported to have previously been acquainted with the prince, voiced his thoughts, Hilary said light-heartedly: “We had a bigger rant about the milk carton.”
While Michael wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about Harry and Meghan, he did express admiration for the future queen, Princess Catherine. He commented: “I’m a big fan of that nice girl who is married to the heir to the throne…I think she’s amazing.”
Michael and Hilary’s remarks about their new neighbours emerge as speculation persists regarding precisely why the Cotswolds was selected as the location for Harry and Meghan’s UK residence following their return, six years after relocating to the USA in 2020.
Discussing why Harry and Meghan might have opted to settle in the region with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, Channel 5’s royal editor Simon Vigar, author of The Four Wives of Windsor, suggested that Harry’s choice could have been influenced by various factors, including nostalgic memories from his youth and practical considerations, given the area’s convenient access to Bristol and Birmingham Airport, along with Cotswold Airport.
He told the Express: “Harry spent a large chunk of his childhood in the Cotswolds when he was staying with his father and still has lots of friends there.
“But the most important thing is it is not London! There are several airports they can use without going anywhere near the capital and attracting attention.”
Fellow royal author Robert Jobson suggested that the Sussexes’ chosen location would also ensure they remained well-connected, with familiar faces close at hand.
He said: “They picked that part of the country for a reason. There are family and friends within easy reach, and a wealthy, discreet set already established around Daylesford and Soho Farmhouse. So they will not be short of a social life.”
