Harry has ‘burnt bridges’ once & for all with US residency stunt – he trashes his family, says Sun’s royal photographer
HARRY has “burnt his bridges” for good after signing his US residency and leaving a “wake of nasty stories”, says The Sun’s royal photographer.
The Duke of Sussex has finally cut ties with the UK after declaring “New Country/State Usually Resident” as America on official documents.
The dad-of-two, 39, listed his California mansion as his primary residence on Companies House filings in June last year.
He had previously put Britain as his primary home.
You could say good riddance because he’s been nothing but a thorn in their side but he is the prodigal son, and the prodigal son did return so I’ll keep my fingers crossed
Arthur Edwards
It was revealed Harry changed his official status to a US resident on the exact day Meghan, 42, and himself were evicted from Frogmore Cottage.
King Charles, supported by Prince William, ordered him to return the keys to his UK base.
The Sun’s royal photographer, Arthur Edwards, dubbed the current state of affairs “inevitable” yet “a sad occasion”.
“They’ve left a wake of nasty stories about the Royal Family, if he only realised he was part of it for many years.
“Him and William were so close, they did everything together, they supported each other through everything.
“That rift now doesn’t seem possible to be healed and that’s very sad.
“Frogmore was a very small part of it, probably an excuse when he left the UK to make his home in North America.
“By signing this document saying he’s now a resident of the U.S, he’s probably burnt his bridges but I live in hope.
“I loved working with him. I thought he was someone really special.
“I’m quite sad about it. But it seems inevitable, his two kids are American, his wife is American, he lives there, but it’s a sad occasion.
“You could say good riddance because he’s been nothing but a thorn in their side but he is the prodigal son, and the prodigal son did return so I’ll keep my fingers crossed.”
But fellow royal expert, Charles Rae, told The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show how the duchess “blew it” for herself and Harry.
A timeline of Prince Harry and William's 'feud': Brothers 'at war'
In 2018, the Sun told how “simmering tension” began when William questioned the speed of Harry and Meghan’s engagement.
The first hints of friction reportedly came after William was introduced to Meghan when she was staying at Kensington Palace.
Once she’d returned home to Canada, William and Harry sat down for a brother-to-brother chat.
He knew Harry was already head-over-heels for her but it has been claimed he advised him to take it slowly.
The younger prince reportedly didn’t take too kindly to the advice, with one royal source saying he “went mental”.
Then in June 2019 Harry and Meghan officially split off from the charity they shared with William and Kate.
The Royal Foundation will be divided between the Sussexes and Cambridges as the couples focus on their own separate charitable endeavours.
Prince William and Prince Harry first established the Royal Foundation in 2009 before Kate joined two years later shortly after their engagement was announced.
The trio would often appear together at events and the Foundation had huge successes with projects like the Invictus Games for injured veterans and the mental health Heads Together campaign.
The Royal Foundation said the decision was made following the conclusion of a review into its structure – but added both couples will continue to work together in the future.
Harry and Meg were living in close proximity to Kate and Wills within the Kensington Palace estate, but they switched to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor before baby Archie was born.
The move further increased rumours of a fallout.
Harry, 39, also hinted in his ITV documentary “Harry and Meghan, An African Journey” that he and his brother had grown apart.
It came after Prince Philip called Meghan the “D.O.W” after the Duchess of Windsor — the American divorcee who led Edward VIII to abdicate.
And he warned the late Queen to be “cautious” of Harry’s then bride-to-be, a royal author claims.
Ingrid Seward revealed in new book My Mother And I that Prince Philip felt it was “uncanny…how much Meghan reminded him of the Duchess of Windsor“.
In 2021, Harry and Meghan give their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey where Harry accused his dad of cutting him off financially.
Harry then jetted back to UK to join William in unveiling a statue to their mother Princess Diana in the grounds of Kensington Palace. But sources claimed William didn’t want to attend the memorial amid their ongoing rift.
In 2022, just before their grandmother the Queen died, sources claimed Kate acts as a “peacemaker” between the brothers.
Last year Harry claimed his brother “knocked him to the floor” during an argument about Meghan.
In his book Spare, Harry said William branded Meghan “rude” and “difficult” during a row.
Harry alleged William “grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and … knocked me to the floor”.
He said he was left with a visible injury to his back following the argument in 2019 at Nottingham Cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace, where he was living at the time.
In January this year, Harry flew in to be with Charles after the monarch’s shock cancer diagnosis.
Harry flew back to the US the following day – without seeing Wills.
Speaking to The Sun’s Royal Editor Matt Wilkinson, Rae claimed the Sussexes had potential to be hailed in the same way as Britain’s beloved Prince of Wales and Princess Kate.
However when talking about the opportunity to be welcomed back by the Royal Family, he added: “I think that ship has sailed.
“They were lorded at one time, there was great hopes for the pair of them.
“I think she just threw it into their faces at the end.”
‘WOUNDED’
Royal author Phil Dampier claimed “a lot can be read into” Harry’s choice to change his primary residence.
He said: “As always with Harry a lot can be read into his actions.
“Being ousted from Frogmore Cottage wounded him deeply.
“Charles and William knew it had to be done to emphasise Harry and Meghan were outside The Firm but he probably still thought he could keep a base here. Now he’s shown he accepts his life is in the US.”
The couple announced Megxit in 2020, when they stepped down as senior royals.
They relocated to their £11million Montecito mansion in California with their son Archie.
It boasts nine bedrooms and 16 bathrooms as well as a sauna, gym, games room and arcade.
The couple can also enjoy a library, office, wine cellar and a five-car garage also feature.
Outside there’s a large pool, tennis court, chicken coop and rose gardens to keep the family entertained.
VISA ROW
It comes as Harry is fighting to stop the release of immigration papers after concerns were raised over his visa application.
His case was sparked after Harry claimed in his memoir Spare he took coke, weed and magic mushrooms.
The Heritage Foundation argue that releasing the documents will prove if Harry lied about his past drug use on his visa application.
If the duke was dishonest, he could be in breach of US federal law and should lose his immigration status.
But lawyers for the US government argued Harry’s drug claims in the explosive book “is not proof” he actually took them.
And, the Department for Homeland Security, which oversees immigration, stated making Harry’s documents public would breach his privacy.
The DHS has also claimed Harry still has a right to privacy even though he is a celebrity.
Judge Carl Nichols asked officials to hand over the documents in March, saying their privacy argument was “insufficiently detailed”.
The Heritage Foundation’s lawyer Samuel Dewey earlier accused the US government of “providing special treatment to celebrities” to enter the US.
On Monday a US ambassador said Harry would not be deported from the US, whatever the outcome of the trial.
HARRY'S VISA ROW
The key facts:
Harry claimed in his memoir Spare he has taken coke, weed and magic mushrooms.
A conservative think tank called the Heritage Foundation say the drug use claims pull Harry’s immigration status into question.
They took the US government to court demanding the Duke’s visa application is made public, to see if he lied about his past drug use.
If he did lie, Harry could be in breach of US federal law.
Government lawyers argue say releasing such documents would breach Harry’s privacy and security.
