Why are Harry and Meghan back in the UK? This Aussie royal-watcher has the answer

August 30, 2026 — 3:00am

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Jo Elvin, a former magazine editor in Australia and the UK, is working as the co-host of the The Royals Uncensored podcast on the Piers Morgan digital media network Uncensored.

Fitz: Jo! Great to chat. I remember 10 years ago at lunch on Sydney’s Insular Peninsula, having a strong conversation about the Australian republic with you. So if I hate myself for my level of interest in Harry and Meghan’s return to the UK, you must positively despise yourself for being host of a weekly podcast dedicated to the royals and for whom this story is manna from heaven? How did that happen?

JE: [Explosive laughter.] I was working at the Mail on Sunday, and I was identified as somebody who could speak with a camera in their face, and they said, “we’re going to do a regular show on the royals, and we want you to host it”. And I said, “But I don’t have any f…s to give about the royals”. And they said, “That’s why we want you. A fresh look”. I took it on in a curious, dispassionate, Aussie way. ”Why do they have to be so rich?“ “Why do we have to bow and scrape?” But tell me, Peter, ’cos I want to know: why are you so interested in them?

Fitz: Because on a long drive back to Sydney from the Hunter Valley a few years ago, my wife wanted to listen to the audiobook of Harry’s book Spare and, against my will, I had to listen. And though I did hate myself for it, I found myself liking Harry, and thought he made some bloody brilliant points, starting with the fact he found himself in a family where every member had their own press office, and they were all briefing against each other, including senior royals handing out, “Here’s why Meghan’s a bitch” cards with dot-points to curry favour and get better stories for their own Royal Highnesses-es-es-es. Talk about dysfunctional! Why wouldn’t Harry want to do a runner out of Dodge to protect his wife and family in the face of that? Which begs the question, why on earth are they coming back?

JE: Well, that’s the question on every royal expert’s lips at the moment. But before we get to that, there’s not one iota of contrition in Harry’s book. Everything is everybody else’s fault, and I’ve got a real issue with that. I was speaking to a journalist at the Daily Mail once, and he said there were never trade-offs like that. He said, “If we were given both those stories, we’d run them both”.

Fitz: From the Daily Mail, I’d believe it.

JE: But the royals are very much, “Don’t complain, don’t explain”. And Harry’s the one who’s put himself right in the firing line with complaining and explaining, and changing his story so often that people are really confused about what is it that you want, Harry. Do you actually know what you want?

Fitz: You’re a journalistic royal heavyweight for the Piers Morgan group and far more genuinely knowledgeable about the inner workings of the royal family than 99.9 per cent of the population. So how do you know this stuff? Is Harry right? Does each member of the royal family have a person briefing you? Are you getting tip-offs?

JE: I personally........

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