Prince Harry and Meghan to Return to Britain with Their Children
Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are planning to move back to Britain this month, six years after leaving for the United States. Their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, are expected to join them at a non-royal residence outside London and are enrolled to start school in September. The Guardian
The Daily Telegraph broke the story. According to the Telegraph, King Charles was informed on Sunday, August 17, that the couple would return. The Prince and Princess of Wales were also told of the decision. King Charles is said to welcome seeing more of his family on a personal basis, but the Sussexes' status as private individuals will not change. The couple gave up their official working roles within the royal family in February 2021, when they confirmed to Queen Elizabeth II that they would not return as working members. The Guardian
They are expected to keep their homes in Montecito, California, and Portugal. Their new British property is believed to be outside London, though specific details have not been publicly confirmed. The Guardian
The return reverses a position Harry stated as recently as May 2025, when he lost a legal challenge over his UK security arrangements. At that time, he said he "could not see a world in which he would bring his wife and children back to the UK." In a BBC interview following the ruling, Harry said he would welcome a reconciliation with the royal family and that he had forgiven his family. He also said he never asked the king to intervene in the security dispute, only asked him to "step out of the way and let the experts do their jobs." The Guardian
Hints of the relocation had been surfacing for over a year. In September 2025, Harry appeared to let slip a plan to have Archie and Lilibet schooled in the UK during a conversation with singer Joss Stone, as reported by the New York Post. By June 2026, an unnamed source told Reuters that Harry said he was coming back before the end of the year with the children, with the express intent to reunite with his father. In July 2026, Page Six reported that the couple were seeking to "reverse Megxit" after a brief family trip to the UK earlier that month. Reuters
The path to this month's decision was not straightforward. Harry was due to return to Britain in early July 2026, hoping to bring his children on a rare visit to show them the country where he grew up. As of July 4, however, his spokesperson confirmed that Meghan and the two children would not travel to London with him the following week. Whether the children joined him depended on adequate security measures being in place, according to AP. By August 16, InStyle reported that Harry planned to visit the UK "more and more" over the coming year. Reuters
The Sussexes had a reunion with King Charles last month at Highgrove in Gloucestershire, their first meeting since the couple relocated to California in 2020. That meeting appears to have been a turning point after years of public tension, legal battles, and media scrutiny. Last month also brought a legal setback for Harry, who, alongside six co-claimants including Doreen Lawrence and Elton John, lost a privacy case against the publishers of the Daily Mail. The claims were dismissed in their entirety by Mr Justice Nicklin. The Guardian
The broader context here matters. The return does not restore the Sussexes to their former working roles. They remain private individuals. But it does signal a concrete shift from the stance Harry maintained after losing his security challenge, when bringing his family to the UK seemed untenable to him. The decision to enroll the children in British schools carries a degree of permanence that earlier signals, scattered across months of speculation, did not. Whether the security concerns that drove Harry's May 2025 statement have been substantively addressed, or whether the family has accepted a level of risk he previously found unacceptable, is not publicly known.
What is clear is that the return is structured as a private relocation, not a royal reintegration. King Charles welcomes more family contact. The working status remains unchanged. The Sussexes are keeping their properties in California and Portugal. And the children, who have spent most of their lives in the United States, are preparing to start school in Britain in September.
