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Prince Harry’s return to the U.K. has put him close to his longtime friends Tom Inskip, Mark Dyer, and Charlie van Straubenzee again. “He’s stayed in touch with most of these guys, but he hasn’t seen them in years, and he’s been missing them all like mad,” an insider told Heat. “He was very lonely in Montecito as far as friends go, so having time with his friends is one of the biggest plus points for him about coming home.” 

But this could reportedly be causing trouble at home. “For Meghan, it’s a real tinderbox; she can’t help but worry that it will get him into a bad situation somehow,” the source added. The insider pointed to recent headlines involving journalist Charlotte Griffiths. 

“It was only a couple of months ago that his old party-boy antics were making headlines again, thanks to the journalist [Charlotte Griffiths, who Harry exchanged texts with before meeting Meghan], his supposed ‘friends’ introduced him to years ago, so her concerns aren’t exactly out of nowhere,” the tipster continued. 

Harry has never hidden his love for British pub culture. In a 2025 essay, The Bond, The Banter, The Bravery: What it means to be British, ahead of Remembrance Sunday, he praised it. The Duke wrote, “The banter of the mess, the clubhouse, the pub, the stands – ridiculous as it sounds, these are the things that make us British. I make no apology for it. I love it.”

Now, Harry reportedly wants another taste of that life. “The big sticking point is what that socialising is actually going to look like,” the insider said. “Harry would love to go back to some of his old London haunts, have a cocktail or two and enjoy being back out with his friends again.”

The source noted, “From his point of view, it’s been the best part of a decade since he’s been able to do that properly. He doesn’t see anything wrong with having some fun.” But Markle is “very worried by how that will look. The last thing she wants is pictures of Harry out drinking and looking footloose around London; the optics are just terrible.”

The source claimed, “They’re trying to project an image of themselves as serious businesspeople and philanthropists. She knows how quickly a harmless night out could be turned against them.” Against that backdrop, Markle reportedly wants Harry to keep his reunions private.

“Harry attracts attention wherever he goes. There will inevitably be women trying to get into pictures with him and people looking for some crumb of information they can twist into a story – that is one of the realities they have to accept and plan for,” the insider said.

“She has offered to host them to watch the rugby, and she swears she has no desire to stop him from having friends,” the source added. Harry’s life is very different these days.  However, he is “very keen to see his friends; there’s no way he’ll avoid them.” But Markle argues that Harry is “a married father of two and an international philanthropist now.” So, he “needs to live up to a certain standard – end of story.”

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