Jenna Bush Hager appeared to take a jab at Meghan Markle and Prince Harry amid their UK return plans. The 44-year-old journalist said that when someone leaves and claims they are “never going back,” they shouldn’t “light a match.”
Jenna Bush said Harry and Meghan’s royal exit should be a lesson to others
Speaking on the August 20 episode of Today with Jenna & Sheinelle, the journalist said, “They visited King Charles and Queen Camilla in July, and it was the first time that they had taken their kids to go visit their grandparents in four years.” She said they seemed like “totally different humans” and noted that they evidently would not return to working as royals.
Jenna stated that they would remain individuals and private citizens, calling it an interesting situation and a lesson for everyone. Adding, “It’s a lesson for everybody. When you leave something and say you’re never going back… [don’t] light a match.”
Both hosts went on to explain that, “She couldn’t go back to where that was, that she’s not going back to that, going back there. But the point stands that they were like, ‘We are out’ of the institutions that exist in the UK.”
Jenna also addressed the couple’s recent trip to the UK, where they brought Archie and Lilibet to visit King Charles III and Queen Camilla for the first time in four years. “Think about little kids’ lives, how much changes in four years. It’s like, [they’re] totally different humans.”
The comments come as Meghan and Harry reportedly plan to leave the US later this month and relocate to a private home outside London. The Sussexes left the UK in 2020, after stepping down from the working monarchy. The Duke of Sussex was stripped of state-funded security and lost his attempt to secure higher levels of protection in the UK, previously stating he would not bring his family back until safety was assured.
Harry told the BBC in 2025, “I can’t see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK at this point,” adding, “I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point continuing to fight any more; life is precious.”
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