In a surprising twist of events, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are set to make their return to the United Kingdom this month, marking six years since they ventured across the Atlantic to the United States.
The couple, famously known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are planning an extended stay in the UK. This time, it seems their children, Archie and Lilibet, will be settling into a British educational experience as they enroll in local schools.
The family will reside in a private home, distancing themselves from royal duties as non-working royals.
It was only over the weekend that King Charles learned from Harry himself about the plans to return later this month.
Welcoming the reunion, King Charles expressed eagerness to see Harry and his family under personal and private circumstances. However, he emphasized that there would be no change to Harry and Meghan’s status, honoring their long-standing desire to remain non-working members of the royal family.
Sources insist, however, it is not in the Sussexes’ ‘plan’ to return to the royal fold. The Mail also understands that no mention of the family’s return was raised or discussed when Harry, Meghan and their children met with the King at Highgrove earlier this summer.
This suggests that Charles may have been blindsided by their latest announcement.
Harry, 41, was already scheduled to visit the United Kingdom to attend a WellChild Awards bash next month and was set to stay in a room at Buckingham Palace.
But the Duke and Duchess no longer require accommodation for their patronages with the whole family believed to be returning within the next two weeks.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly moving back to the United Kingdom this month – six years after leaving for the US
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are said to be moving back to the United Kingdom before the end of the month
And Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, are thought to have already enrolled in a British school
Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, are thought to have already enrolled at a British school – and the family are reportedly planning to stay fir an ‘extended period’ until the children finish education.
It is not yet know, however, whether the move will be a permanent one. The location of Harry and Meghan’s new home has remained unknown for privacy reasons.
Harry and Meghan are set to retain their £11million home in Montecito, California, which they have lived in since moving across the pond in 2020. They also still own a residence in Portugal.
The surprise news comes six years after the couple left Britons in disbelief when they stepped down as working royals.
In a statement released at the time, following a 12-month review, Elizabeth II announced they would not ‘continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service’.
The former monarch added that they would not be maintaining a ‘half-in, half-out’ approach to their duties. Harry was later stripped of his honorary military titles.
The pair, who wed in 2018, were blasted at the time for failing to consult Charles, Camilla or Prince William before announcing their exit.
They were accused of ‘press[ing] the nuclear button’ and made the bombshell announcement just days after returning from a six-week break in Canada. They later permanently moved to California in March, 2020 in a move that was widely dubbed ‘Megxit’.
Royal aides who accused Meghan of bullying them said they were frightened of ‘what she would do to them’ after they spoke out, it was claimed.
The Duchess of Sussex’s staff were left ‘in a psychologically delicate state’ and ‘viewed her capacity for revenge as infinite’, an expert has alleged.
Meghan has always denied the allegations of bullying while she was working as a royal, which she described as an orchestrated smear campaign against her.
Veteran royal correspondent Valentine Low broke the bullying story in May 2021, just before Harry and Meghan were to appear on screen with Oprah Winfrey to discuss Megxit.
He claims that some of the royal staff who had worked with the Sussexes were still in a ‘very fragile state’ more than two years later – and despite the royal couple having emigrated 5,000 miles away to the US.
‘They were very worried about what Meghan would do to them. They viewed her capacity for revenge as infinite’, Mr Low said.
‘They’d left the employ of the Royal Family and they still were in a psychologically delicate state as a result of what happened to them at that time’.
King Charles is understood to have found out about his son’s impending move back to Britain on Sunday
Meghan and Harry are set to keep hold of their £11million mansion in California
It is not yet known where Harry and Meghan will be living when they move later this month
The couple famously appeared in public together for the first time at the Toronto Invictus Games in 2017, pictured hand-in-hand at a wheelchair tennis event.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved to Vancouver Island in 2020 after quitting the royal family in what became known as ‘Megxit’.
Meghan, 43, also lived in Toronto for several years where the Netflix series Suits was filmed and famously made their first appearance together as a couple at the 2017 Invictus Games held in the city.
Since the couple’s shock exit, Prince Harry’s relationship is said to have been strained not only with his father but with his older brother and future monarch, Prince William.
The siblings are not thought to have spoken for years, with William and Kate Middleton understood to have been ‘deeply hurt’ by allegations made in Harry’s memoir, Spare.
It was thought that the brothers promised to put aside their differences in honour of their late mother Princess Diana. However, according to royal author Phil Dampier, who wrote Royally Suited: Harry And Meghan in their own words, the promise is broken.
Mr Dampier told the Daily Mail: ‘William and Harry put aside their differences for the unveiling of the statue of their mother Princess Diana [five years ago], but things are much worse now.
‘I think William would find it very hard to meet Harry, even to honour Diana’s memory. Next year marks the 30th anniversary of her death, so that would be an obvious time for them to try and heal their rift and at least be seen together, but I don’t think William’s heart is in it.
‘Friends tell me that, as far as he is concerned, Harry is the past, and he is only concerned about the future for his wife Catherine and their children George, Charlotte and Louis.
‘He will never forgive Harry, in my opinion, not just for leaving the Royal Family, but for the dirt he dished out in his book Spare, the Netflix show, and the Oprah Winfrey interview.
‘It led to Catherine being smeared as a racist, and he will never forget that.’
It was six years ago in 2020 that Harry and Meghan quit life as working royals
Sources, however, suggest that King Charles ‘welcomes’ the opportunity to see more of his family
It is thought that Harry has long missed life in the UK – and has been ‘desperate’ for Archie and Lilibet to experience life where he grew up.
With the Invictus Games set to be held in Birmingham next summer, Harry hopes that the King will join him to open the games. It is, nevertheless, currently unknown whether that will materialise.
‘Charles may use Queen Camilla’s 80th birthday as an excuse not to be present. But one thing is certain – William won’t be there. He will make sure he is far away so there is no doubt he could make it.
‘Obviously the dates are known, but William won’t want to be anywhere near his brother. He will feel he is being used by Harry, just to benefit himself and his image.
‘Of course, William wants to support veterans and the military – after all, he will one day be King and head of the armed forces – but I just can’t see him dancing to Harry’s tune.
‘Too much has been said, it’s gone on so long, and the feelings of hurt and betrayal are too deep.’
Harry and Charles enjoyed a private reunion with Harry, Meghan and their children last month – four years after the monarch last saw Lilibet and Archie.
The Duke and Duchess were welcomed by Charles and Camilla to the King’s private residence, Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, in a move which marked a step towards healing Harry’s relationship with his father.
Charles, as well as Camilla, had also been subject to criticism from the 41-year-old in his 2023 memoir.
But a year later, Harry made a dash across the Atlantic Ocean to see Charles after news of his pancreatic cancer diagnosis was released.