After weeks largely out of public view, Meghan Markle has finally been photographed in Britain following her family’s return to the U.K. — and the person beside her wasn’t Prince Harry.
The Duchess of Sussex, 45, was spotted in Oxfordshire on September 21 with longtime friend Ellen DeGeneres and DeGeneres’ wife, Portia de Rossi. The trio met at The Three Horseshoes, an 18th-century pub near Burford in the Cotswolds. (People.com)
The outing happened while Harry was continuing a run of public engagements connected with causes including WellChild and the Invictus Games. But headlines claiming Meghan dramatically “ditched” her husband’s event exaggerate what is known: there is no reliable evidence she was expected to attend Harry’s engagement in the first place.
What made the photographs notable was something simpler.
They were the first published images of Meghan out and about in Britain since the Sussex family returned from California.
Meghan Had Been Almost Invisible Since the Move
Harry and Meghan returned to Britain with Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, in late August after six years based primarily in California. (People.com)
Harry quickly returned to the public eye.
On September 17, he attended the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards at London’s Old Royal Naval College and told reporters that it was good to be “back on British soil.” He also participated in an event focused on children affected by conflict. (Reuters)
Meghan took a different approach.
Although there had been reports of a discreet visit to Soho Farmhouse, she had not been photographed making a public outing in Britain following the family’s move. (The Sun)
That changed on September 21.
Her First Photographed Outing Was Surprisingly Casual
There was no evening gown.
No royal receiving line.
No carefully choreographed arrival.
Instead, Meghan was photographed outside a country pub.
She wore white jeans, white sneakers and a loose pale-blue button-down shirt, finishing the relaxed look with sunglasses. Photographs showed her greeting DeGeneres outside the establishment, with a security guard nearby. (Us)
It was about as far removed from one of Meghan’s former royal engagements as possible.
And perhaps that was the point.
This wasn’t announced as an engagement or charity appearance. It appears to have been a private lunch between friends. (International Business Times UK)
Ellen DeGeneres Isn’t a New Friend
The pairing may have surprised people who haven’t followed Meghan’s life in California closely.
But DeGeneres has been in Meghan and Harry’s social circle for years.
Meghan appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in November 2021, her first daytime talk-show appearance since marrying Harry. The interview became memorable partly because DeGeneres persuaded Meghan to participate in a hidden-earpiece prank outside the studio. (LaineyGossip)
The friendship continued away from television.
Harry and Meghan attended DeGeneres and de Rossi’s surprise vow-renewal ceremony in 2023. The couples were also neighbors in the Montecito area before Ellen and Portia established a home in England. (International Business Times UK)
So Meghan meeting them after returning to Britain wasn’t a newly formed celebrity friendship.
It was a familiar piece of her California life appearing in her new British one.
Ellen and Portia Have Their Own Connection to the Cotswolds
There’s another reason the location made sense.
DeGeneres and de Rossi relocated to England’s Cotswolds in 2024. They have subsequently maintained ties to California as well, with PEOPLE reporting that the couple now divides time between Britain and the United States. (People.com)
That placed Meghan and her old Montecito friends within easy reach of one another again.
Their meeting took place at The Three Horseshoes near Burford, Oxfordshire.
Rather than one friend flying across an ocean for lunch, all three were already spending time in the same part of England.
The Choice of Ellen Immediately Sparked Debate
The photographs inevitably generated discussion online, and some commenters focused less on Meghan’s clothes than on her companion.
DeGeneres’ public reputation changed dramatically after former employees of The Ellen DeGeneres Show made allegations in 2020 about a toxic workplace culture behind the scenes. WarnerMedia investigated the workplace, and three senior producers subsequently left the show.
DeGeneres apologized to staff and addressed the controversy publicly when her program returned.
That history explains why some critics described Meghan’s choice of companion as “problematic.”
But that characterization is an opinion, not a factual description of Meghan’s outing.
The documented fact is simply that Meghan and Ellen have remained friends despite the controversy surrounding the former talk-show host.
Meanwhile, Harry Was Having a Very Different Week
While Meghan’s first photographed appearance was private and social, Harry’s return to public life has revolved around charitable work.
His September 17 appearance at the Invictus Spirit Awards marked his first major public event in Britain after the family’s return.
Harry founded the Invictus Games in 2014 for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans, and the organization remains one of the most visible parts of his post-royal public life. (Reuters)
He subsequently appeared at the WellChild Awards, another organization with which he has had a long relationship.
There, Harry spoke about how Archie and Lilibet were adapting to their new lives in Britain, including the inevitable “Monday morning blues” that came with starting a new school. (InStyle)
The contrast between Harry’s week and Meghan’s was striking.
Harry: tuxedos, speeches and charity events.
Meghan: jeans, sneakers and lunch with friends.
But there is no evidence the two schedules were in competition.
So Did Meghan Really ‘Ditch’ Harry’s Event?
Not based on the available reporting.
The word “ditched” suggests Meghan had planned or was expected to accompany Harry and then abandoned those plans to see Ellen.
Reliable reports don’t establish that.
Harry attended his engagements alone, while Meghan’s pub meeting appears to have been a private outing. (People.com)
Nor would Meghan automatically be expected to accompany him simply because they are married.
The Sussexes are no longer working members of the royal family, and their schedules don’t operate like a traditional joint royal diary.
Their return to Britain hasn’t changed that.
They Haven’t Returned as Working Royals
This is one of the biggest misconceptions surrounding the Sussex family’s move.
Harry and Meghan’s return to Britain does not mean they have resumed the roles they left in 2020.
They stepped back from senior royal duties that year and moved first to Canada and then California.
Six years later, their relocation has brought them physically closer to the royal family and Harry’s British charitable work, but it hasn’t restored their former official positions.
PEOPLE reported that they will not live in a royal residence, either. The exact details of their British home have been kept private. (People.com)
So Meghan’s first outing didn’t need to look “royal.”
In fact, it looked remarkably ordinary.
Archie and Lilibet Are Beginning Their Own British Chapter
Perhaps the most consequential part of the family’s return has little to do with celebrity lunches.
Their children are now experiencing life in their father’s home country.
Archie and Lilibet began school after arriving in Britain. The children subsequently changed schools after discussions about security and commuting logistics, with a spokesperson stressing that the decision was not a criticism of the original school’s staff. (InStyle)
Harry has already offered small glimpses into how they are adjusting.
He revealed that the family has been introducing them to distinctly British foods and traditions, and the children are beginning to settle into their new routine. (Page Six)
For Archie especially, the move represents a return to the country where he was born.
Lilibet, meanwhile, was born in California and has spent most of her life in the United States.
Meghan Is Still Building a Life Outside the Royal Institution
Meghan’s professional identity has also changed considerably since she last lived full-time in Britain.
Before marrying Harry, she was best known for playing Rachel Zane on Suits.
After leaving royal duties, she launched several media and business ventures, including her lifestyle brand As Ever.
Current reporting suggests that the brand remains part of her focus after the move. (People.com)
There has also been speculation about a return to acting, including reports linking her to Netflix’s The Gentlemen, although no confirmed role should be assumed from those reports alone. (HOLA! USA)
In other words, Meghan hasn’t returned to Britain as the same woman who departed in 2020.
She now has a separate commercial and public identity outside the royal household.
Her Friendship With Ellen Has Survived Two Moves
There’s something almost circular about the Oxfordshire photographs.
Meghan and Harry left Britain and eventually settled in Montecito.
There they became part of a celebrity community that included Ellen and Portia.
Then Ellen and Portia moved to the English countryside.
Now Harry and Meghan have also returned to Britain.
And one of Meghan’s first photographed moments after the move was with the same friend she used to see in California.
The scenery changed.
The friendship apparently didn’t.
The Photographs Also Show How Different Meghan’s Life Is Now
Compare the new images with photographs from Meghan’s final years as a working royal.
Then, a public appearance might involve photographers waiting behind barriers, a carefully selected designer outfit, handshakes with dignitaries and a detailed itinerary released to the press.
This time she walked into a pub wearing sneakers.
There was no palace announcement.
There was no official photographer.
There was no royal rota.
And there was no Harry.
That difference arguably says more about Meghan’s new position than any online argument about Ellen DeGeneres.
Harry and Meghan Are Taking Different Approaches to Their Return
So far, Harry has been the visibly public half of the couple.
He has returned to the causes that kept him connected to Britain even while he lived in California.
Meghan has remained comparatively private, concentrating on her family, friendships and business interests.
That may change.
But her first photographed outing offered a revealing snapshot of the balance the Sussexes appear to be attempting: Harry reconnecting publicly with longstanding British causes while Meghan establishes a more private routine around their new home.
Whether people approve of the friend she chose to meet is another question entirely.
The photographs themselves establish something much simpler.
After weeks of speculation about when Meghan would finally appear publicly in Britain, she did.
Not at a palace.
Not beside another royal.
Not even beside her husband.
She emerged outside a country pub with Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi — old friends from the California chapter of her life, now unexpectedly part of the British one too. (Harper’s BAZAAR)
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