Harry and Meghan Are Moving Back to the UK — and King Charles's Health Looms Over the Decision
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are moving back to Britain with their two children, Archie and Lilibet, in the coming weeks, according to two people familiar with the matter The New York Times. CNN reported the family plans to relocate from the US to a private residence outside London, with Archie and Lilibet expected to start school in the UK.
King Charles first learned of the move only a few days before the news broke, and it was not discussed during his July meeting with Harry, Meghan, and their children in the UK, according to Town & Country Town & Country. The King welcomed the opportunity to see more of his son and grandchildren but made clear there would be no change to Harry and Meghan's status as non-working royals — the term for members of the family who do not carry out official duties on behalf of the monarch and do not receive funding from the Sovereign Grant, the taxpayer payment that covers royal work.
The timing has prompted an obvious question: is Charles's health the reason? Commentators have suggested the King's cancer diagnosis may have played a role in the decision Today. The King, now 77, was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in February 2024 and stepped back from public duties to begin treatment. More than two years later, he was still receiving treatment as of August 2026 BBC.
There had been encouraging signs before the move. In December 2025, Charles said in a televised broadcast that an early diagnosis was key to the "good news" that his treatment was being scaled back. A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said the King had responded "exceptionally well" and that ongoing measures would move into a precautionary phase, to be continuously monitored and reviewed. The Telegraph reported in August 2026 that Charles was recovering but that it was more likely than not he would reduce his public duties The Telegraph.
Harry himself signaled the strain. In a May 2025 interview with the BBC, he said he wanted reconciliation with his family and added, "I don't know how much longer my father has," implying the two were not in regular contact about Charles's health. The Queen, the former Camilla, recently revealed that Charles told her he would "cope" with cancer in his "own way" after the diagnosis The Telegraph.
The family rift has a long arc. Harry and Meghan stepped back as working royals in 2020 and relocated to California, where they have lived since. The June 2024 meeting between the King and the Sussexes in the UK was one of only a handful of in-person encounters since the departure. Charles's July 2026 meeting with the full family, including the children, was notable for its rarity — and for the fact that the move back was not raised.
The funeral planning thread adds another dimension. The Telegraph reported in June 2025 that the Duke of Sussex was expected to walk in the King's funeral plans, with the Sussexes involved in the arrangements at what the paper described as the highest level The Telegraph. Charles is recovering, and the palace has not suggested his condition is terminal. But the practical machinery of succession — a set of plans known by the codename Menai Bridge — accounts for every branch of the family.
Charles has spoken about his illness with increasing openness. In a message on the royal household website in December 2025 supporting Stand Up To Cancer, he wrote that he had been "profoundly moved" by the "community of care" surrounding every cancer patient. In April 2025, he quoted advice to "find a life worth enjoying; take risks; love deeply; have no regrets; and always, always have rebellious hope." He referred to his own "cancer journey" during a speech at the White House state dinner on April 29, 2026, when Charles and the Queen visited Washington as guests of the US president.
What makes the move resonate beyond one family is that the Sussexes have spent six years building a life, a media company, and a public identity in California. Returning to Britain places them back inside the institutional structure they left — as non-working royals with no official role, no Sovereign Grant funding, and the same palace boundaries the King has now reaffirmed. For Archie, who is seven, and Lilibet, who is five, the move means a new country and a school system they have never been part of. For Harry, it means proximity to a father whose treatment is ongoing and whose schedule is contracting. The palace has not commented on whether the family will take on any informal engagements or appearances. Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the specifics of the move, which is reported as that — a declined comment, not a confirmation.
