King Charles Plans London Return as Harry and Meghan Arrive Back in the UK
King Charles is preparing to leave Balmoral and return to London, one day after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle touched down on British soil with their two children.
The Sussexes landed at Birmingham Airport on Wednesday lunchtime, according to the Telegraph, arriving with Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five. It brings to an end six years of living abroad in the United States — a period that began when the couple stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and relocated to Montecito, California HELLO! Magazine.
News of the relocation first broke the previous week, with reports that the family intended to move before the September school term. They will live outside London, in a non-royal residence whose exact location has been kept private for security reasons. HELLO! understood the family could potentially settle in the Cotswolds — an area that counts Ellen DeGeneres and the Princess Royal among its residents, and where, a source told HELLO!, the Sussexes have friends.
The couple will remain private individuals and non-working royals, in keeping with the agreement made in 2020. King Charles, HELLO! reported, welcomes the opportunity to see more of Harry and Meghan in a private and personal capacity.
Charles had been at Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire for his annual summer break, officially welcomed with a ceremony and guard of honour on 18 August People. He was pictured at a Sunday church service at Crathie Kirk, near the castle, alongside Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children — his first public appearance since the Sussex relocation news. The Prince and Princess of Wales have since left Balmoral after a week with the King and Queen.
Charles's return to London brings a scheduled engagement into view. He is expected to meet the Pakistan National Cricket Team at Clarence House on Wednesday, 2 September. Clarence House, the King and Queen's London residence for the past 23 years, sits a short walk from Buckingham Palace in central London.
The timing puts father and younger son in the same country for the first time since the relocation was announced, though no meeting has been confirmed. The dynamic between the Sussexes and the wider royal family has drawn commentary: former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt suggested the return could create "rival courts" within the family, and that Prince William would be "apoplectic" at the move The Guardian. Those are Hunt's assessments, not statements from either household.
For now, the facts are these: Harry, Meghan and their children are on British soil. The King is heading to London. Where the Sussexes settle, and how often the family paths cross, remains private — by design.
