Timing is everything. That’s what they always say. And when it comes to Harry and Meghan, those two have the most exquisite timing.
They left England and returned at exactly the right time.
Let me explain.
When Harry and Meghan stepped away from royal life in 2020, they were widely accused of acting hastily. They were called impulsive, disloyal and ungrateful. Their departure was treated as an act of astonishing recklessness committed by two people who had failed to appreciate the splendour of their position.
But what were they supposed to do? Remain indefinitely in a situation that was clearly not working?
By the time they left, the relationship between the Sussexes and the royal machinery surrounding them appeared to have deteriorated beyond repair. Meghan was being scrutinized relentlessly. Harry was furious about the treatment of his wife and terrified that history might repeat itself. Every outfit, gesture, friendship and private decision seemed to generate another headline, another leak or another round of palace intrigue.
Something had to give.
Had they stayed, the constant pressure might have damaged their marriage, their confidence and their ability to raise a family according to their own values. Leaving gave them breathing room. It placed an ocean between their young family and the institution that had come to dominate nearly every aspect of their lives.
They did not leave because they had no other options. They left before they lost the ability to create them.
And, whether they intended it or not, moving away allowed them to develop their own personas and identities independent of the monarchy—and of William and Kate. It also allowed them to cement their union without interlopers, palace busybodies and onlookers influencing their every move.
They established a home in California. They became financially independent. They built relationships, created companies, pursued charitable work and travelled the world without waiting for the palace to devise an itinerary or approve a statement.
They also became parents to two children far away from the royal fishbowl.
The distance gave Harry and Meghan the opportunity to find out who they were, both individually and as a couple, when they were no longer required to function as the supporting act in somebody else’s royal production.
The level of growth that comes with what Harry and Meghan did is extraordinary. Growth does not come from being coddled by helicopter parents and institutions. It comes from standing on your own two feet, making mistakes and taking pride in your own accomplishments and achievements.
The couple returning to Britain now is not the same couple who departed in 2020. They have negotiated major commercial deals, built an international charitable platform and represented themselves on the world stage. They have succeeded, stumbled, recalibrated and continued moving forward—all without the protective scaffolding of the palace.
That hard-earned independence changes the conditions of any return.
They are not coming back as the bruised and frustrated junior members of the so-called Fab Four. They are returning as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex: a married couple with their own household, their own projects, their own international profile and, most importantly, a life beyond the palace gates. Their children, too, are at an ideal age to begin school alongside some of the people who may one day form part of their lifelong network.
This is precisely why now is the right time for Harry and Meghan to make their return.
The years away allowed the white-hot anger surrounding their departure to cool. The monarchy has changed. Britain has changed. Harry and Meghan have changed. Even the public conversation about them has become more complicated. Yes, there is still a lot of animosity in certain corridors, but many more have developed a more centrist view of the situation.
Indeed, there has been enough time for the original battle lines to begin looking rather tired. And perhaps there has also been enough time for everyone involved to recognize that permanent warfare benefits nobody.
The Royal Family does not need another decade of estrangement, competing briefings and carefully choreographed avoidance. Harry should not have to spend the rest of his life separated from his country and family. Meghan should be able to enter Britain without being treated as though she has arrived to seize the Crown. Their children deserve a meaningful connection to both sides of their heritage. As two young people in the line of succession to the British throne, Archie and Lilibet should certainly have the opportunity to experience a British education.
A return does not require Harry and Meghan to surrender the independence they fought so hard to obtain. Nor does it mean pretending that nothing painful ever happened. It simply means that leaving and returning are not contradictory decisions. On the contrary, they are the epitome of exquisite timing.
Sometimes you must leave a place before you can return to it on healthier terms. Sometimes distance is what makes rapprochement possible. And sometimes the only way to preserve a relationship is to step outside it long enough for everybody to understand what must change.
Harry and Meghan left when remaining might have swallowed them whole. They are returning when they are strong enough, established enough and independent enough not to disappear inside the institution again.
Even the monarchy may now be better positioned to appreciate what they bring.
The Royal Family has endured illness, loss and a noticeably reduced roster of working royals. It could benefit from warmth, glamour, energy and renewed public fascination. Harry and Meghan possess all four in abundance.
This does not mean they must resume their old jobs, move into a royal residence or spend every Tuesday afternoon cutting ribbons in the rain. A modern arrangement could be looser and more intelligent: selected appearances, charitable collaborations, family occasions and a gradual rebuilding of trust.
The Fab Four do not have to try quite so hard to be fabulous. They do not have to share an office, a foundation or matching smiles at every engagement. They merely need to reach an understanding that allows everyone to retain dignity—and recognize that there is more to gain from détente than from endless hostility.
So, yes. Harry and Meghan’s departure may have looked chaotic at the time, but history will judge it differently. Leaving protected their marriage, gave their children a private foundation and allowed them to become fully formed public figures in their own right.
Returning now does not invalidate any of that. On the contrary, it completes the logic of the decision.
Leaving was right. Returning is right.
That is not inconsistency. It is evolution.
And in the long, dramatic and still-unfolding story of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, their timing may prove nothing short of exquisite.
Photo by ChatGPT
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