The news that Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, will return to the U.K. imminently comes as a bolt from the blue.

Is this couple the proverbial bad penny the country can’t shake off? Or are they more akin to the biblical prodigal son?

The pair quit Britain six years ago, complaining about the restrictions of royal life. They also decried the British media as too invasive. Harry was one of several high-profile complainants who lost a recent lawsuit against the publishers of the Daily Mail . He and others must now pay millions of dollars in legal costs to Associated Newspapers.

They turned the final years of Harry’s grandparents, the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, into a nightmare of recriminations and accusations. The timing was despicable. As Philip lay dying, they gave their tell-all interview with Oprah in which they branded an undisclosed member of Harry’s family “racist.”

They even appropriated the late Queen’s childhood nickname, Lilibet, for their daughter, without her permission. According to those close to the late Queen, that ultimate betrayal cut to the quick.

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Now they’re back. The big question is why? It could be that Harry’s immigration status in the U.S. is up for scrutiny. Were ICE agents closing in on their multimillion-dollar Montecito estate?

There are rumours Meghan has been offered an acting gig. Could it be they couldn’t compete with the high-powered California elite? Their business ventures, such as Meghan’s lifestyle brand, As Ever, have had only mediocre success. You have to sell a lot of jam to support the California lifestyle they aspire to.

They haven’t set the business world on fire. Spotify exec Bill Simmons called them “grifters” after their contract expired. Meghan recently got into a dust-up with lifestyle guru Martha Stewart.

The couple will live in a non-royal residence outside London and will live as private citizens, not royals.

In the story of the prodigal son, the loyal son who’d stayed home was irked by the warm welcome the wayward son received.

So, we’ll raise a glass to Prince William and his wife Catherine, the Prince and Princess of Wales. Their behaviour has been exemplary over the past six years. They’re going to need all the patience they can muster.