PRINCE Harry made a key mistake and risks throwing away his dream life in the US for good, warns a royal expert.
The Duke of Sussex, 39, anxiously awaits a judge’s decision on releasing details of his visa application amid concerns he lied on it about taking coke, weed and magic mushrooms.
In his bombshell memoir Spare, the fifth-in-line to the throne fessed-up to the drug use but is understood to have omitted the detail from his filed US residency docs.
The Heritage Foundation said if Harry lied on his application, he could be in breach of US federal law and should lose his immigration status – forcing him to ditch Meghan Markle and their £12m Montecito mansion.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told The Sun it’s a very “embarrassing” situation for both Harry and Meghan, regardless of whether the Prince has been truthful or not.
The Sussexes are made to look foolish
Richard Fitzwilliams
He said: “The fact of the matter is that it will be very embarrassing, or may be very embarrassing.
“Harry may have included drug use on his application form. If he hasn’t, it will unquestionably make headlines, and that will not be beneficial so far as the Sussexes are concerned.
“I don’t think Harry would have written his memoir Spare now, because there’s evidence that the Sussexes have, in fact, beefed up the communications team.”
Richard added the pair have set themselves up for being whacked with the “double standard” stick after throwing out years of damaging claims against the Royal Family.
He said: “What we are facing, however, is a possibility of very considerable embarrassment for the Sussexes, that they’re made to look foolish, and the reasons for this, of course, are the attacks they’ve launched on the Royal family.
“And the fact that if you attack an institution, supporters of that institution, or those who believe that you’ve been very unwise and very foolish, believe that there are double standards.”
Harry had previously been trying to stop the release of his visa application after the case was brought to attention by a think tank.
Last month, President Joe Biden‘s lawyers confirmed they had complied with a court order to move it onto the next step.
The court filing read: “Defendant the U.S. Department of Homeland Security respectfully informs the court that it has complied with the court’s March 7, 2024, order by submitting declarations with attachments for ex parte in camera [in private] review.”
It comes after 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, said making Harry’s documents public would breach his privacy.
By Sarah Grealish & Matt Wilkinson
PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle are desperately trying to be rivals to the royal family to save their image, a royal expert has claimed.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have just returned to the US after a three-day tour of Nigeria.
The Sussexes kicked off their “faux-Royal tour” with a visit to Lightway Academy, a primary and secondary school in the capital.
They then visited Nigeria’s defence HQ on Friday to meet military wives and senior officals.
The following day Harry was snapped playing volleyball, before Meghan referred to Nigeria as “my country”.
Many royal fans were quick to point out the similarities between their trip and an official royal tour.
And now a royal expert says he believes “an alternative royal family is emerging”.
Speaking on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show with Matt Wilkinson, Gareth Russell said: “To all intents and purposes that is a real possibility.
“The problem for the Sussexes is that once you start doing anything like that, people become a lot more critical of what you do outside that – like commercial endeavours or quasi-royal tours.
“People will put them under more of a microscope because they’re calling it ‘The Office of Harry and Meghan’.
“It’s interesting. I wonder is it part of a plan to pivot from some harsh headlines they’ve had in the last year or two?
“Is it maybe a slightly more social conservative direction and have themselves as royals in exile for want of a better word?
“I wonder is that them acting on advice that people don’t want to hear them criticising the royal family.”
Mr Russell now believes Harry and Meghan could be plotting more ‘faux-royal tours’ – including of the US.
He explained: “Their popularity at the moment is pretty low in America but that could change.
“Public opinion is always a bit of a rollarcoaster.
“But they absolutely could (go on a US tour) and there’s indications that they will.”
But Judge Carl Nichols asked officials to hand over the documents 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.
Lawyers for the Biden administration rejected the allegation of special treatment.
Harry cut ties with Britain in April when he listed his California not-so-humble abode as his main residency.
And in June last year, the same time King Charles evicted his son and daughter-in-law from Frogmore Cottage, Harry put “New Country/State Usually Resident” as America on Companies House filings.
PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle are celebrating their sixth wedding anniversary.
Early 2016: The Sussexes first meet on a blind date, but keep their romance a secret
October 2016: The couple’s romance becomes after a friend confirms they are dating, though neither speaks publicly to confirm
November 2016: Prince Harry confirms for the first time he is in a relationship with Meghan
December 2016: Harry and Meghan are photographed together in public for the first time
May 2017: The couple attend a public event together, marking a major milestone, as they watch a charity polo match
September 2017: Meghan publicly discusses her relationship with the duke in an interview with Vanity Fair, saying: “We’re two people who are really happy and in love.”
November 2017: Having had tea with the Queen just weeks earkier, Harry and Meghan announce they are engaged
Christmas 2017: Harry and Meghan spend Christmas at Sandringham, Norfolk, with the Royal Family
May 19, 2018: The world watches as Harry and Meghan tie the knot in a public ceremony at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, having had a private ceremony three days earlier
October 2018: The couple confirm Meghan is pregnant with their first child
May 2019: Meghan gives birth to Archie, before a beaming Harry tells reporters: “Mother and baby are doing incredibly well.”
He adds: “It’s been the most amazing experience I could ever possibly imagine.”
January 2020: In a bombshell move, the Sussexes announce they are stepping down as senior royals and intend to become financially independent
July 2020: Harry and Meghan move to Montecito, California, where they remain today
February 2021: The couple announce they are expecting their second child
March 8, 2021: The Sussexes sit down for a TV interview with Oprah Winfrey in which they make a number of bombshell claims against the Royal Family, most damagingly of all that an unnamed member had made a racist comment about the colour of son Archie’s skin
June 2021: Harry and Meghan welcome their second child, daughter Lilibet
December 2022: Three months after returning to the UK for the Queen’s funeral, Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary drops
