Prince Harry’s future hangs in the balance as Washington makes decision that could force him and Meghan Markle back to the U.K.

Prince Harry‘s scandalous memoir Spare has got him in trouble in all sorts of ways. The Royal family certainly didn’t appreciate their estranged son airing all their dirty laundry in print, with many experts agreeing that its publication is the ultimate reason Harry may never be welcomed back with open arms by his own kin.

And yet, in a worst-case scenario, the Duke of Sussex may be forced to return to the U.K. from his self-imposed exile in California, after all, if the results of his long-running visa row fall against him. After a four-month review of the prince’s visa application, the judge has finally come to a verdict which — in the long run — has the potential to see Harry, Meghan Markle, and their two children booted from the U.S.

Prince Harry’s drug-use visa row gets definitive ending as judge makes his verdict

Four months on from first taking on the case in April, Judge Carl Nichols has officially submitted his verdict on whether Prince Harry lied on his visa application to a court in Washington, D.C., in a sealed document. At the time of writing, which way his verdict fell is unknown but his decision is expected to be made public within the next few days, as per The Sun (via The Independent).

In Spare, released in January 2023, Harry openly discusses his previous experiences with taking illegal substances, including cocaine and magic mushrooms. This made many readers sit up and question how it is that he was ever accepted for a U.S. visa when declaring whether you’ve ever taken drugs is part of the application. The legal case got into motion this past spring when think tank The Heritage Foundation sued the Department of Homeland Security for blocking a Freedom of Information request to make the details of Harry’s application available to the public.

Theoretically, if Harry is found to have lied about his drug usage on his application then he could get deported. However, both sides of the political divide have alternate opinions on whether this would be carried out. While President Biden has maintained that he would never dream of deporting the prince, Donald Trump has stressed that he would treat Harry like any other citizen. Biden’s successor as Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris, has yet to offer her opinion on the matter, however, so her perspective may differ from the POTUS’.

Even if the judge does rule against the duke, then, it’s not exactly like King Charles will be woken up one night by a homeless Harry turning up on the doorstep of Buckingham Palace. That said, it would undoubtedly plunge the Sussexes into their biggest crisis yet. And if the ruling does go in his favor, that wouldn’t solve the hit to Harry’s reputation. As expert Michael Cole said, “America does not look kindly on people telling lies on official forms!”