Meghan Markle’s first photographed appearance since moving back to England was not a walk in the village or a quiet countryside errand. It was a social outing in the Cotswolds with Hollywood couple Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi.
Markle, 45, and Prince Harry announced on Aug. 19 that they were returning to the United Kingdom, and relocated with their children later that month. The move was widely framed as a step toward a lower-profile life away from the spotlight the couple has cultivated since leaving royal duties and settling in Montecito, California.
But the choice of company for her first public sighting has raised eyebrows among royal watchers. Kinsey Schofield, host of YouTube’s “Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered,” told Fox News Digital the outing shows “there is already going to be considerably less privacy for Meghan in Britain than perhaps she anticipated.”
“But there is an irony here too. If Harry and Meghan genuinely wanted to disappear into quiet country life, the Cotswolds is one of the places where they could probably accomplish that,” Schofield said. “Instead, Meghan’s first photographed social outing is with Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi. That tells me she remains very interested in celebrity and in being associated with recognizable, high-profile people.”
Schofield said it’s “interesting” that Markle “appears to have changed countries without necessarily changing the social ecosystem she prefers,” pointing out that in Montecito, Markle and Harry regularly spent time with “wealthy, famous and influential people.”
She added that stepping out first with “two fellow American celebrity transplants” isn’t wrong on its face, but it undercuts “the idea that Meghan has returned to Britain simply to embrace a quieter, more anonymous country life.”
“If anything, this suggests she may be trying to recreate elements of Montecito in the Cotswolds: privacy when she wants it, but with a glamorous and recognizable social circle around her,” Schofield said.
A calculated signal, expert says
British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital she agrees with Schofield’s read, arguing “Meghan Markle does nothing per chance” and was deliberately photographed with the DeGeneres-de Rossi couple to signal “for all to see that she’s extending her celebrity world from CA to the Cotswolds, aiming to be viewed as significant.”
“She’s saying ‘I’m a Hollywood celebrity’ rather than a royal and am thus far sticking to celebrity lane insulated by privilege and not integrating into English life,” Fordwich said.
Schofield separately questioned why DeGeneres in particular would be the first name tied to Markle’s return. “Ellen’s reputation was badly damaged by allegations about the workplace culture surrounding her show, while Meghan herself has faced serious allegations about her treatment of Palace staff, which she has strongly denied,” Schofield said. “Given that history, I am surprised Meghan would want photographs of the two of them together circulating so soon after her return to Britain. It invites comparisons I would imagine her advisers would rather avoid.”
During the couple’s earlier stint living in the U.K. based at Kensington Palace, Markle faced allegations that she bullied Palace staff. She has denied those allegations.
Diverging paths for Harry and Meghan
Schofield also drew a contrast between Markle’s behavior and Prince Harry’s, saying it reflects her focus on “commercial and monetary opportunities,” while Harry appears “determined to maintain the appearance and rhythm of royal life.”
“Harry likes the engagements, the causes, the speeches and the sense of public duty,” Schofield said. “Meghan seems happier pursuing celebrity and commercial opportunities. So I don’t necessarily think her absence from Harry’s events is accidental. They may simply have very different ideas about what they want their lives back in Britain to look like.”
Schofield noted that Markle is aware of “where her popularity currently stands in the United Kingdom,” where she “consistently polls near the bottom” in royal popularity surveys. Markle knows public opinion isn’t likely to “change overnight,” and that jumping back into public-facing events “could set her up for some very uncomfortable experiences.”
Harry and Markle stepped down as senior working royals in January 2020 and officially relocated to California that March. More than five years later, their move back to England is already drawing the kind of scrutiny they said they wanted to avoid.
