US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was glad Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle had left the United States, adding that he would not have welcomed them back if he were a member of the British royal family.
Trump accused Meghan of being “terribly disrespectful” towards the late Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III, in his first reaction since the couple moved back to Britain from California.
“I’m happy about it. I was not a fan,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about Harry and Meghan’s departure.
“I thought they treated the royal family with great disrespect. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like the way she acted. I thought she was terribly disrespectful to the Queen, to King Charles.”
Harry, 41, and Meghan, 45, are settling back in Britain six years after stepping down as working royals and moving to the United States following a bitter rift with Harry’s family.
Harry appears to have improved relations with his father, King Charles III, who is undergoing cancer treatment, during his more recent visits to Britain.
However, he reportedly remains estranged from his elder brother, Prince William, the heir to the throne, and William’s wife, Catherine.
Trump said he would not have been as forgiving.
“Maybe I’m different. I wouldn’t have taken him back, right? If I were the royal family, I would not have taken them back,” he said.
The 80-year-old former reality television star has previously exchanged barbs with Meghan.
Ahead of a state visit to Britain in 2019 during his first presidential term, Trump denied calling Meghan “nasty”, despite the remark being audible on a recording of an interview with a tabloid.
Meghan had also criticised Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, describing him as “misogynistic” and “divisive”.
She appeared to take another swipe at him ahead of the 2020 election, which Trump lost, saying she was “not a fan” and adding: “I wish a lot of luck to Harry, because he’s going to need it.”
Harry and Meghan’s return to Britain with their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, marks the end of a lengthy period away from Harry’s homeland.
The couple married in a high-profile ceremony in 2018 but stepped down as working royals two years later following a deepening rift with the royal family and relocated to North America.
The dispute intensified after Harry published his memoir, “Spare”, and the couple gave a highly publicised interview to US talk-show host Oprah Winfrey.
During the interview, Meghan, who is mixed-race, and Harry suggested the monarchy was racist, saying a member of the royal family had raised concerns about the potential skin colour of their son before his birth.
Meghan also said she had contemplated suicide after joining the royal family.
The couple subsequently signed a series of commercial deals with US platforms, including Netflix and Spotify. However, reports have said their efforts to build a new life and career in the United States have struggled.
Their return to Britain has raised questions over how long they intend to stay.
The Telegraph reported that the couple plan to remain in Britain for “an extended period” and live at a home in the Cotswolds in central England. Their children have reportedly been enrolled at a school for the coming academic year.
However, amid speculation over the reasons for their return and whether the move could become permanent, reports say Harry and Meghan intend to retain their existing homes in California and Portugal.
Meghan faces a particularly difficult challenge in readjusting to life in Britain, where she remains unpopular. Polling has consistently shown that a majority of Britons hold unfavourable views of her, and, to a lesser extent, Harry.