Meghan Markle's recent outing with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai was far from "low-key." The Duchess of Sussex and the female education activist were spotted on Wednesday sitting in a corner booth at London's Claridge's hotel and also pictured hugging goodbye outside. While she's been seen at pubs in the Cotswolds and Soho Farmhouse, the outing with Malala marked the Duchess of Sussex's first sighting in the British capital since moving back to the UK.
"None of this is low-key. And this is why I think this whole move is quite extraordinary," HELLO!'s Royal Editor Emily Nash remarked on HELLO!'s A Right Royal podcast. "Lest we forget, back in June, when Harry came back to the UK, he said it wasn't safe for him to bring his wife and children to the capital. So they did come to the UK and they stayed outside of London. What has changed to make Meghan come back?"
"She's there in central London and it's one thing to be discreetly spotted at the table. But then she was photographed coming out in some very elegant clothing with Malala. It may not be her responsibility at all that that has happened, but what's changed? They must be confident that they are either having or about to have some better security, perhaps? Intriguingly, it seems to deviate from what we were told just a couple of months back."
Prince Harry and Meghan Meghan lost their taxpayer-funded security when they stepped back from royal duties in 2020. "They have private security but they can't carry weapons," Emily noted, while pointing out that "there are quite a lot of big men around" in the photos of Meghan and Malala.
© Cameron Spencer/Getty ImagesAhead of the Sussexes' move back, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham stated that Harry's security is a "private matter." “It's a matter for Harry and for Meghan," he said.
The Duchess was granted her first government-backed security review following their return. At the time, it was also reported by The Telegraph that the Sussexes were granted an "interim, light-touch security provision."
Over the summer, according to The Telegraph, Harry made a private plea to Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, for answers on his security following a risk assessment that was conducted at the end of July. Meghan and their kids, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, didn't end up joining Harry in London during his visit that month.
© Jonathan Brady-Pool/Getty ImagesAfter losing his legal challenge over security protection in May 2025, the Duke told the BBC, "I can't see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point. And the things that they're going to miss is well everything."
"I love my country, I always have done, despite what some people in that country have done," Harry added. "I miss the UK. I miss parts of the UK. Of course I do. And I think that it's really quite sad that I won't be able to show, you know, my children my homeland."
