The latest fever dream from Richard Eden and the British tabloid ecosystem—breathlessly reporting on “Project Thaw” and Labour ministers supposedly scheming to restore the Sussexes—deserves not just skepticism but outright rejection. The very premise that Harry and Meghan should or would return to the UK reveals a profound disconnect between what the British establishment wants and what the Sussexes actually need.

The Toxic Foundation Remains Unchanged

Let’s be clear about what awaits them in the UK: the same media apparatus that drove them out, the same institutional racism that made Meghan’s life unbearable, and the same courtiers and family members who leaked against them, briefed against them, and ultimately chose protecting the “institution” over protecting two people who were being relentlessly attacked.

Eden’s piece inadvertently exposes this toxicity. He describes Meghan as “the mixed-race American actress”—as if her professional accomplishments and her identity as a biracial woman are somehow interchangeable descriptors. This casual racism, published in a major newspaper without apparent editorial objection, is precisely why they left. The comments section Eden references is even worse: thousands of vitriolic attacks, conspiracy theories about their children, and open hostility that would be actionable harassment in any other context.

The “Security” Smokescreen

The renewed focus on security assessments isn’t about protecting the Sussexes—it’s about creating conditions where they can be used as royal props while remaining vulnerable to the very forces that necessitate security in the first place. The Home Office stripped Harry’s automatic security despite documented threats, despite his military service, despite his status as the King’s son. Now they’re considering restoring it, but only if Harry and Meghan agree to play the game on terms set by others.

This is a trap. Security dependent on governmental whim rather than guaranteed as a matter of status can be weaponized. It creates leverage: behave how we want, or we’ll leave your family exposed.

William’s Incompetence Is Not Their Problem

The subtext of every “bring them back” story is that William and Catherine are failing spectacularly. William’s work ethic is abysmal—commenters on Celebitchy accurately note he barely manages 180 engagements annually compared to the 500 his grandmother undertook. He’s “privacy obsessed in a way that borders on paranoia,” refuses advice, and is “constantly angry.” Catherine has 10-12 patronages and can’t visit most of them yearly.

The solution to royal incompetence is not dragging back the people who were harassed out of the country to cover for lazy, entitled heirs. Harry and Meghan have built successful, impactful lives doing meaningful work—from Archewell’s initiatives to Harry’s Invictus Games and Meghan’s advocacy. Why should they sacrifice their peace, their children’s wellbeing, and their autonomy to bail out an institution that treated them as expendable?

The “British Education” Canard

Eden’s claim that Harry wants his children educated in the UK is particularly insulting. Harry’s own experiences at Ludgrove and Eton were traumatic—he describes William literally pretending not to know him at school. Diana didn’t want Harry at Eton. He’s repeatedly said Meghan is better educated than him, and she was educated entirely in the US.

Archie and Lilibet are American. They’re being raised in California with stability, love, and protection from the meat grinder that is the British tabloid press. The fantasy that they need Eton’s “network” ignores that Meghan has cultivated an incredibly loyal, successful friend group through American schools. It also ignores the fundamental question: why would any parent deliberately expose their children to an environment that views them through the lens of racism and treats them as pawns in a royal soap opera?

The Labour Government’s Alleged Interest

The idea that senior Labour ministers are championing the Sussexes’ return is fascinating—and entirely self-serving from the government’s perspective. They see diplomatic and soft power value in Harry (particularly around Invictus), and they recognize that William is a liability on the world stage. UK politician Boris publicly called the Sussexes a “national asset.” The government wants to use them while William and the palace want to marginalize them.

But this isn’t about Harry and Meghan’s wellbeing. It’s about extracting value from them for Britain’s benefit while offering nothing in return—certainly not protection from the same media that makes their lives miserable, and certainly not genuine family reconciliation when William reportedly has no interest in that.

What They Actually Deserve

Harry deserves the right to visit his birth country safely, to see friends, to support his charitable work like Invictus. That requires security as a matter of right, not as a political football or bargaining chip. He shouldn’t have to negotiate with RAVEC, shouldn’t have to fight through courts, shouldn’t have to prove his need for protection after years of documented threats.

Meghan deserves never to set foot in a country that treated her with such spectacular cruelty unless she genuinely wants to. The comment sections Eden references—calling her a “grifter,” questioning whether her children exist, describing her with racial epithets—show that nothing has changed. The same people who drove her to suicidal ideation are still out there, still being amplified by the same media outlets.

Their children deserve to grow up away from an institution and a media culture that would treat them as commodities, photograph them without consent, and subject them to the same racist scrutiny their mother endured.

The Real “Project Thaw”

If British politicians and palace courtiers genuinely wanted reconciliation, they would:

1. Hold the media accountable for years of racist, misogynistic coverage
2. Guarantee security as a matter of status, not political favor
3. Demand William’s participation in genuine reconciliation rather than enabling his petulance
4. Prosecute credible threats against the Sussexes rather than dismissing them
5. Acknowledge institutional failures that made their position untenable

None of this is happening. Instead, we get Eden’s fantasy where taxpayers will be “furious” at protecting a Prince and his family (they weren’t furious when Andrew got protection), where Meghan is reduced to her race, and where the solution to royal dysfunction is forcing back the people who escaped it.

The Bottom Line

Harry and Meghan have won. They left a toxic situation, built new lives, maintained their dignity, and continue doing impactful work. They’re raising their children in safety and relative privacy. They’ve exposed the rot at the heart of the institution without having to remain inside it.

Returning—whether permanently or in any substantial way—would be walking back into the cage. It would subject their children to the same trauma they escaped. It would validate the institutional abuse they endured. And it would solve exactly nothing, because the fundamental problems—the racist media, the incompetent heir, the courtiers protecting the institution over people—remain unchanged.

The British establishment wants them back because they need them. Harry and Meghan should respond with a firm, permanent “no”—because they deserve better, their children deserve better, and no amount of security assessments or government schemes changes the simple fact that they are thriving precisely because they left.