LONDON – In a move echoing the drama of a cherished television series, the royal family’s saga continues as it heads back across the Atlantic. As Prince Harry and Meghan make their way from sunny California to the United Kingdom, the world watches with bated breath, pondering if this will be a heartwarming reunion or spiral into fresh tensions.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are set to return to British soil in just a few short weeks. In preparation for their overseas journey, they’ve already enrolled their young royals, Prince Archie, aged 7, and Princess Lilibet, aged 5, into local schools to ensure they begin the autumn term alongside their peers.
This unexpected announcement, which made headlines late Wednesday through reports by the Telegraph and Sun, has fueled speculation and intrigue over various aspects of their return. Key questions swirling include their potential residence, the logistics of their security arrangements, and the tantalizing prospect of their re-involvement in royal responsibilities.
Yet, perhaps the most delicate matter remains the strained bond between Harry and his brother, Prince William, the future king. This relationship has been severely tested by Harry’s outspoken grievances about alleged mistreatment by palace employees, alleged racism within the royal circle, and perceived shortcomings of the monarchy itself. Adding to the tension is the looming question of whether Harry and Meghan will outshine William and Catherine upon their UK return.
“This presents a challenge the palace must navigate…” remarked Craig Prescott, an authority on constitutional matters and the monarchy from Royal Holloway University of London, in conversation with The Associated Press. “There’s a delicate balance; Meghan and Harry’s arrival in the UK mustn’t eclipse the ongoing efforts of the monarchy, requiring thoughtful dialogue and strategic planning.”
Harry and Meghan wanted their children to grow up British
The couple are expected to live at a private, nonroyal residence outside of London and they won’t resume their royal duties, which they gave up when they moved to the exclusive Southern California community of Montecito six years ago, British media reported late Wednesday.
Their return to the U.K. comes as King Charles III, Harry’s 77-year-old father, continues to undergo treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer that was discovered in 2024. The prince said last year that he didn’t know “how much time my father has left,” and has expressed a desire for his children to have a chance to get to know their grandfather.
While Harry and Meghan’s decision is a surprise to many, royal historian Ed Owens said recent events created a pathway for the couple’s return.
First, Harry spoke of his desire for reconciliation, then there was the apparently successful meeting between the king, his younger son and daughter-in-law and their children last month at Charles’ Highgrove estate in western England. In addition, there is Harry’s stated desire for his children to grow up British and that the U.K. looks like a safer place to be right now, given the divisions in American society, said Owens, author of “After Elizabeth: Can the Monarchy Save Itself?”
Royal experts expect Charles to forgive Harry
Finally, Owens said he expects Charles to forgive Harry because as the supreme governor of the Church of England he has to demonstrate the teachings of Christianity, including the virtue of forgiveness.
William may find forgiving his brother more difficult, but someday he too will become head of the church, Owens said.
“It may be that privately William never fully forgives his younger brother for what he deems the betrayal of the family,” Owens told The AP. “But publicly,” he will, “because for traditional moralists, traditional Christian values, they demand that there is this public act of forgiveness, that there’s reconciliation between the brothers.”
Charles was informed of Harry and Meghan’s plans on Sunday and the matter wasn’t discussed during their recent visit to the U.K.
Relations have been strained in the House of Windsor
Relations between Harry and Meghan and the rest of the royal family have been strained since the couple gave up their royal duties and moved to California in 2020 to earn their own living. The couple later signed lucrative contracts with Netflix and Spotify.
The rift deepened after the couple gave a series of interviews and Harry published his explosive memoir “Spare,” in which he said they left Britain to escape the restrictions of royal life. The couple also criticized palace officials for being insensitive to Meghan’s mental health and alleged at least one member of the royal family had expressed racist views when she was pregnant with their first child. Meghan describes herself as biracial.
Oprah Winfrey asked Harry to summarize his reasons for leaving Britain in a 2021 interview that was broadcast around the world.
“Lack of support and lack of understanding,” he replied.
Strains are exacerbated by long-running battles with the newspapers
Those tensions were exacerbated by Harry’s long-running legal battle with Britain’s tabloid newspapers, which he alleges illegally hacked his phones and invaded his privacy when he was younger. The courtroom drama seemed to be nearing an end after Harry and other plaintiffs lost their lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mail last month.
That case left Harry facing a potential bill for millions of pounds after the court ruled the plaintiffs were liable for the publisher’s legal fees. Associated Newspapers has filed documents showing that its costs amounted to 34.5 million pounds ($47 million).
Harry has also been embroiled in a legal wrangle with the British government after a government committee refused to authorize police protection for him and his family when they are in the U.K. The prince says they need armed police protection because they are at risk as members of the royal family, regardless of whether they are working royals.
The couple’s security arrangements are a “private matter” for Harry and Meghan to deal with, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said when asked about the issue on Thursday.
After Harry lost his court challenge of the committee’s decision in May 2025, the prince said he hoped to reconcile with his family while continuing to vent his anger at those in Britain he feels have mistreated him and his wife.
“I can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the U.K. at this point,” he told the BBC at the time. “And the things that they’re going to miss is, well, everything. You know, I love my country. I always have done, despite what some people in that country have done.”
Although much of the media attention on Harry and Meghan has focused on family tensions and recriminations in recent years, Owens suggested that the story may now shift to the royal’s efforts to rebuild family harmony.
“I think time is a great healer. It creates space in a social media-saturated world,” he said. “People are always looking for the next thing to talk about and, arguably, that will be reconciliation between first of all father and son, and then potentially the two brothers.”
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