Breaking: Why Donald Trump’s win could spell disaster for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle….. See More

With Donald Trump becoming the president of the United States yet again, many are left wondering what his second presidency will look like – and it seems Prince Harry and Meghan Markle could have a lot riding on it.

The world is tensely awaiting Donald Trump’s first move now he’s secured a second term in the White House – and two people likely to be on tenterhooks are Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Unlike the last US election in 2020, the Sussexes have largely stayed out of politics in this latest vote, endorsing neither Trump or his rival Kamala Harris. But Trump has certainly not stayed quiet on his opinions on Harry and Meghan – making a series of damning statements about them on the campaign trail – even suggesting if he became president once more, the Duke of Sussex could be deported from the United States.

Harry has long been berated by Trump since he and Meghan took the dramatic decision to quit as working royals and move to the United States more than four years ago. Back in 2020 at the time of the last US election campaign between Mr Trump and Joe Biden, the Sussexes appeared in a video urging Americans to ‘vote against hate speech’.

While they did not specifically mention anyone by name, the remarks were interpreted as referring to Mr Trump and therefore an endorsement of Mr Biden, with some claiming it was a breach of the Sandringham Summit agreement, which was written up when the couple quit their royal duties in 2020. Later Mr Trump spoke out saying he was “no fan” of Meghan.

Fast forward to recent months, Harry has found himself in the centre of a row over his visa, which allows him to live in California. After admitting to using marijuana, cocaine and psychedelic mushrooms in his controversial memoir Spare, a lawsuit from the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation argued that the US Government should release records about the Duke’s visa US application to show whether his drug use was disclosed.

Before a ruling was made in the case, Mr Trump raged at the Biden administration for maintaining the privacy of Harry’s immigration application in order to “protect Harry.” He told the Express US : “I wouldn’t protect him. He betrayed the Queen. That’s unforgivable. He would be on his own if it was down to me.”

Days later he was also challenged on this stance on Harry during an interview with Nigel Farage on GB News. Mr Farage asked if there would be any “special privileges” for the prince, and the now president-elect said: “No. We’ll have to see if they know something about the drugs, and if he lied they’ll have to take appropriate action.”

Digging deeper, Mr Farage asked: “Appropriate action? Which might mean…not staying in America?” Mr Trump responded: “Oh I don’t know. You’ll have to tell me. You just have to tell me. You would have thought they would have known this a long time ago.”

In September, a judge made a ruling in the case saying that Harry’s visa documents should remain private. However, the Heritage Foundation has made another court filing saying it was not granted access to private submissions made to the judge by the Biden administration.

The 13-page motion was filed last month and says that the case was ‘unique’ and complex but adds there is “ample evidence of agency bad faith” meaning this “severely compromises [Heritage’s] ability to prepare arguments on appeal”.

The lawsuit was originally brought by the Heritage Foundation after a Freedom of Information request for the Duke’s records was rejected by the Department for Homeland Security (DHS). In his bombshell memoir, Harry confessed that cocaine “didn’t do anything for me”, adding: “Marijuana is different, that actually really did help me.” He also recounts an experience with magic mushrooms, saying: “I stared at the bin. It stared back. ‘What-staring? ‘ Then it became… a head. I stepped on the pedal and the head opened its mouth. A huge open grin.”

US visa applications specifically ask the individual about current and past drug use, which can have a detrimental impact on the progress of the application. Prolific drug use can lead to applications being rejected, however, immigration officers use their discretion against a range of factors.

However, it has been reported that if Trump wants to follow through with his suggestion, Harry and Meghan seemingly have a back-up plan. The couple are reported to have purchased a new holiday home in Portugal, close to one owned by Harry’s beloved younger cousin, Princess Eugenie, 34, and her husband Jack Brooksbank, 38. MailOnline previously reported that this purchase could have allowed the Duke and Duchess to obtain a ‘Golden Visa’ – which would allow them visa-free access to the European Union’s Schengen area.

However, another royal expert, Richard Fitzwilliams, told the Daily Express that it’s unlikely Portugal will become the Sussexes’ new permanent home. He explained: “I don’t think that the home in Portugal is intended as a permanent base to replace California. Harry was extremely foolish to discuss his drug taking in Spare both in interviews and in the memoir, available in paperback. However, the Sussexes have kept a relatively low profile during the Election, urging Americans to vote but not being explicit as to whom for.”

And there has been a hint that Harry’s visa woes during a Trump presidency won’t result in him being deported. It comes after Mr Trump’s son Eric suggested before the election that Harry’s visa would be safe because “no one cares” about him and that his wife Meghan is “pretty unpopular”.

Speaking to MailOnline, Eric said: “Truthfully I don’t give a damn about Prince Harry and I don’t think this country does either. My father loved the Queen and I think the monarchy is an incredibly beautiful thing.” He added: “I don’t give a damn if he did drugs. It means nothing. I can tell you that our father and our entire family has tremendous respect for the monarchy.”

Elsewhere in the interview, he said Harry had appeared to have “gone off the deep end and it’s sad to watch” but praised his brother Prince William and added that his wife Kate has been “such a rock in the next generation of the family”.