Trump says he's 'happy' Harry and Meghan went back to UK as he's 'not a fan'

President Donald Trump has made his feelings about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's departure from the US crystal clear, telling reporters in the Oval Office that he's 'happy' to see the Duke and Duchess of Sussex go.

Asked directly about the couple's move back to England, Trump didn't mince his words.

'I'm happy about it,' he said, before adding a blunt assessment of his own: 'I was not a fan.'

The president went further, saying that if the decision had been his to make, the pair wouldn't have been welcomed home to the UK at all.

'I wouldn't have taken them back,' he told reporters, adding, 'If I were the royal family, I would not have taken him back.'

Prince Harry and Megan Markle are returning to the UK. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)

What did Trump say about Meghan Markle and the royal family?

Trump's criticism centered specifically on Markle and the way he felt she treated the late Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles.

"I thought they treated the royal family with great disrespect. I didn't like it. I didn't like the way she acted," he said. "I thought she was terribly disrespectful to the Queen, to King Charles."

The comments come after Harry and Meghan officially returned to the UK last week, bringing an end to a six-year stint in the United States that began when the couple relocated to California in 2020 following their split from royal duties.

Prince Harry previously met Melania at the Invictus Games in Canada in 2017. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation)

Has Trump met the royal family before?

Trump's fondness for Britain's monarchy is well documented. Queen Elizabeth hosted him for a state visit during his first term in office, and King Charles extended the same honor during his second, making him the first American president to receive two state visits.

Trump returned the gesture in April, hosting King Charles and Queen Camilla for a state visit of their own.

That warmth toward the royal family appears to be part of what's fueling his frustration with how Harry and Meghan have handled their relationship with the institution, and, by extension, with the current White House.

News of the Sussexes' UK return broke last month, and it wasn't long before some of Trump's MAGA allies weighed in online.

Reports at the time suggested the couple's decision to leave the US was driven, at least in part, by their dislike of Trump ahead of the midterm elections.

People reported that Harry and Meghan "have made no secret of their disillusionment with the current White House," a detail that didn't go unnoticed among Trump's supporters.

Katie Miller, wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, was among those to comment, posting on X alongside a link to the People article: "They are moving back to Britain because they don't like President Trump."