Nigel Farage has found a new way to make Prince Harry and Meghan Sussex part of the political conversation. Appearing on The Benny Show, the Reform UK leader described the couple’s behaviour as an “absolute disgrace,” called Harry a “weak man” and Meghan a “strong woman” who “uses her wiles” to lead him. When host Benny Johnson joked about deporting Meghan back to the United States, Farage replied: “You might get her back. You might get her back if I’m in charge.”  

The exchange was presented as humour. But it raises a fairly basic question that somehow went unanswered. What exactly has Meghan done since returning to Britain that would justify even joking about deporting her?

Meghan Has Barely Been the Story

The Sussexes returned to Britain with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in August. Since then, much of the public activity has come from Harry.

He has appeared at the WellChild Awards, worked on preparations for the Invictus Games, completed a charity skydive in Canada for veterans, addressed NATO’s Military Committee and attended a London fundraiser supporting Ukraine.  

Meanwhile, one of the biggest stories involving Meghan this week concerned photographers allegedly walking around the perimeter of her children’s school and looking into the grounds. Their spokesperson condemned the behaviour as “extraordinarily reckless.” Reuters reported that the couple’s spokesperson said photographers walked the perimeter of the school, looked into the grounds and monitored the children, describing those involved as ‘certain European paparazzi.

Against that background, Farage’s description of the couple’s conduct as an “absolute disgrace” could have used some specifics. Instead, he reached for one of the oldest explanations available whenever a man makes choices people dislike: blame the woman.

Apparently Harry Has No Agency Again

This kind of attack on Meghan is not new. British coverage has repeatedly stripped Harry of agency and cast Meghan as the woman controlling him. Even the label “Megxit” did that work for them: Harry himself called the term misogynistic because it blamed Meghan for a joint decision, and critics noted that nobody called it “Hexit.”

That framing became serious enough that, in 2019, more than 70 female MPs from across the political spectrum wrote an open letter condemning “distasteful and misleading” coverage of Meghan and calling out “outdated, colonial undertones.”

Farage’s “strong woman” using her “wiles” on a “weak” Harry fits the same script: Meghan as manipulator, Harry as helpless.

Jeremy Clarkson pushed that trope even further in The Sun, suggesting Meghan had used sexual influence to turn Harry into a “warrior of woke.” IPSO later ruled that the column contained sexist, “pejorative and prejudicial” references to Meghan as a woman. It drew more than 25,000 complaints. I genuinely do not understand how this level of public harassment by high-profile men is still tolerated in a supposedly civil society.

And About That Deportation Joke

Farage says the deportation remark was a joke. But the context matters here as his former party, UKIP, was hit by scandal in 2018 after Jo Marney, then dating party leader Henry Bolton, sent racist messages saying Meghan would “taint” the Royal Family and making derogatory comments about Black people. Bolton condemned the remarks.

Composite image showing Jo Marney during a television interview beside screenshots of racist messages about Meghan Markle and Black people.

Reform UK has since faced its own controversies. In 2024, a campaigner in Farage’s Clacton constituency was filmed using a racial slur about Rishi Sunak and making anti-Muslim remarks. Farage condemned the comments and the party distanced itself from those involved. Farage is also facing a parliamentary standards inquiry over a £5 million political donation he received from cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne shortly before the 2024 general election.

None of that makes his Meghan joke illegal. But it does make the choice of target harder to shrug off. A man who wants to become prime minister joked about deporting a woman while identifying no crime, immigration offence or other legal basis for doing so. Given the racist and misogynistic abuse Meghan has already faced in British public life, that is a particularly ugly punchline.

Meghan Bashing Still Guarantees Headlines

Farage did not identify any specific “disgraceful behaviour” by Meghan. He did not point to a crime, a scandal or even a recent public statement. He simply revived the familiar idea that Meghan is manipulative and Harry is too weak to make his own decisions.

That framing has been profitable in British media for years. Meghan’s name guarantees attention, especially when attached to outrage, betrayal or some fresh accusation that she has supposedly controlled Harry. But repetition does not make the claim more credible.

Since returning to Britain, Meghan has largely stayed out of the public eye, while Harry has spent much of his time on charity, veterans and Invictus-related work. So what exactly is Farage condemning?

He does not say. Instead, he reaches for a sexist trope and lets the headline machine do the rest: Meghan as schemer, Harry as victim, and another high-profile man rewarded with coverage for attacking a woman who has done nothing to him. That is not serious criticism. It is attention-seeking dressed up as political commentary.

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