President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he's glad Prince Harry and Meghan Markle returned to England, and said that if he were the royal family, he would have kept the door shut.

The remarks came days after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex boarded a private charter flight from Van Nuys, California, and landed at Birmingham International Airport with their two children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5. Flight tracking data confirmed the plane touched down at approximately 11:56 a.m., Breitbart reported, ending more than six years of American residency that began when the couple stepped back from royal duties.

Trump, who has cultivated a warm relationship with the British monarchy through an unusual pair of state visits, did not hold back about the couple's conduct.

"I was not a fan," the president said. He singled out Markle by name, telling reporters:

"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."

Asked whether the royal family should accept the couple's return, Trump was blunt: "If I were the royal family... I would not have taken them back."

Harry cited his father's health as a reason to come home

The couple had reportedly been planning their departure from Southern California for several weeks, if not months, before the move became public. They left behind a $14 million mansion in Montecito and arrived in England with plans to settle at a private, non-royal residence outside London. The children have already enrolled in British schools, with classes set to begin in September.

Harry, 41, offered his own public explanation for the move. In an interview with the BBC, he said he wanted to reconcile with his father, King Charles III, who is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer. AP News reported Harry's remarks:

"I would love reconciliation with my family. There's no point in continuing to fight anymore. I don't know how much longer my father has."

The family is reportedly staying on the Cotswolds estate of Ian Wace, the CEO of hedge fund Marshall Wace LLP, whose net worth is estimated at $1.2 billion. Wace reportedly helped finance their return to the United Kingdom. The couple plans to house hunt for a permanent countryside residence while maintaining their California property.

The administration's willingness to comment publicly on the departure of a high-profile foreign national fits a broader pattern. Trump has made aggressive enforcement of immigration and removal policies a centerpiece of his second term, and his pointed remarks about Harry and Meghan, while different in kind from deportation actions, carried the same unmistakable message: the United States under this president is not a refuge for those who wear out their welcome.

A rare double state visit underscored Trump's ties to the Crown

Trump's relationship with the British monarchy stands in sharp contrast to the friction between Harry, Meghan, and the rest of the royal family. The late Queen Elizabeth II hosted Trump for a state visit during his first term. King Charles hosted him for another during his second term, a rare double state visit for an American president.

In April, Trump returned the gesture, hosting King Charles and Queen Camilla for a state visit in Washington. The diplomatic warmth between the two heads of state made Trump's public dressing-down of the Sussexes all the more pointed.

Royal commentators have warned that the couple's return to British soil will create its own set of problems for Buckingham Palace. Richard Fitzwilliams, a royal commentator, told Fox News that the Palace faces a "nightmare" because Harry and Meghan "can't be controlled." Kinsey Schofield, another royal watcher, noted that the couple remain private citizens with no obligation to clear their public activities through the Palace.

"They are private citizens and no longer working on behalf of the King, so Buckingham Palace isn't approving Meghan's interviews, appearances, Instagram posts or commercial projects."

Harry and Meghan will not have public security upon their return, and they are not expected to resume roles as working royals. That leaves them in a peculiar limbo, royal in title, private in practice, and dependent on the hospitality of a billionaire hedge fund executive for a roof over their heads.

The administration has simultaneously moved on multiple fronts to tighten who stays and who goes. The State Department has revoked more than 175,000 visas under a continuous vetting initiative, part of a broader effort to ensure that residency in the United States is treated as a privilege, not a default.

Six years in California produced no lasting foothold

Harry and Meghan moved to Southern California in 2020 after stepping back from their duties as senior members of the royal family. During their time in the United States, they pursued ventures in publishing, entertainment, political commentary, and lifestyle branding, including content deals and food-related projects. None produced the kind of durable public profile the couple appeared to seek.

Peter Hunt, a former BBC royal correspondent, suggested the move back to England could shift family dynamics. "In the short term, Harry will be able to deepen his rapprochement with his father," Hunt said, per Newsmax. "And his presence back home will make it harder for his brother to duck a reconciliation."

Whether that reconciliation materializes remains an open question. Harry's public admission that he does not know "how much longer" his father has introduced a note of urgency, but the couple's track record of airing private grievances in public has left deep scars within the royal family. King Charles may be willing to receive his son. Whether the institution around him shares that willingness is another matter entirely.

Trump's comments also fit within a presidency that has redrawn the boundaries of who belongs in the United States through executive orders on citizenship, birth tourism, and visa enforcement. The president has shown no interest in treating celebrity status as a shield from scrutiny, and no hesitation in saying so publicly.

Courts have at times pushed back on the administration's removal agenda. Federal judges have blocked certain deportation actions on constitutional grounds, and legal battles over protected status continue to work through the system. But on the question of Harry and Meghan, the president faced no legal obstacle, only a microphone and an opinion he was glad to share.

The Sussexes traded a $14 million Montecito mansion for a billionaire's guest quarters in the English countryside. Trump, for his part, made clear he considers that an upgrade, for America.