Prince Harry and Meghan to Return to the UK With Archie and Lilibet
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have announced they will return to live in the United Kingdom with their two children, six years after stepping down as working royals. The family plans to move back to Britain later this month, with Prince Archie, age seven, and Princess Lilibet, age five, set to start at British schools when the term begins in September (HELLO! magazine; AP News).
Reuters confirmed the planned relocation to Britain in August 2026, placing the move six years after Harry and Meghan confirmed in February 2021 that they would not return as working members of the Royal Family (Reuters; Reuters, 2021). The upcoming move will mark the first publicly known visit to the UK for Archie and Lilibet since June 2022 (ABC News).
No official announcement has been made about where the family will live. HELLO! reports only that it will be "a private, non-royal home base in Britain" outside of London. The Sussexes already own a vacation home in Portugal, and they previously lived at Frogmore Cottage, a Windsor residence gifted to them by the late Queen Elizabeth II. King Charles asked them to vacate Frogmore Cottage in 2023 (HELLO! magazine).
King Charles, age 77, was first made aware of the return plans on Sunday, August 16, 2026. The announcement came weeks after Harry met with the King at Highgrove, the King's Gloucestershire estate, in a gathering attended by Meghan, Archie, and Lilibet. People magazine reported that Harry plans to return to the UK "more and more" following that reunion (HELLO! magazine; People).
There will be no alterations to Harry's or Meghan's status within the royal family in connection with the move (HELLO! magazine). They remain non-working royals, a status settled in 2021 when they confirmed to Queen Elizabeth II that they would not resume royal duties.
The return plans come after a summer of shifting signals. In July 2026, a spokesperson for Harry said Meghan and the children would not travel to London with him the following week (Reuters). People magazine reported in late July that King Charles planned to offer Harry a room at Buckingham Palace during his next UK visit in September (People). Earlier in August, Harry attended a London event alone that Meghan had been expected to join (People).
For now, the detail that will land first for most readers is the simplest one: two children who have spent most of their lives in California are enrolled in British schools, and the family that left in 2020 is coming back to live.
