Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are returning to the UK to live, enrolling their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in British schools, just a year after Harry said he could not see a world in which he would bring his family back to the UK, deeming it 'too dangerous'.
From California to a Non-Royal UK Residence
Six years ago, the couple headed to California after the late Queen deemed the dual life they wanted—earning money in the US while supporting the monarch—untenable. Just 14 months ago, when Harry lost a Court of Appeal challenge over losing his automatic right to taxpayer-funded security in the UK, he said he couldn't see a world in which he would bring his wife and children back to the UK, and previously said it was 'too dangerous'.
Now, in a remarkable turn of events, the Sussexes are setting up a home in a non-royal residence, thought to be outside of London, and have enrolled their children in British schools. This comes just six weeks after Harry brought Meghan and his children to the UK for their first family visit together in four years, where they met the King at his Highgrove country retreat in Gloucestershire.
A History of Bitter Allegations
In 2021, in their tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey while the late Prince Philip was in hospital, the couple claimed an unnamed royal had made a racist remark about unborn son Archie's skin tone and accused the monarchy of failing to help a suicidal Meghan. This prompted Harry's late grandmother Elizabeth II to say the issue raised would be dealt with privately, adding 'some recollections may vary'.
When they welcomed their daughter Lilibet Diana months later, a royal aide said the late Queen was 'as angry as I'd ever seen her' following the Sussexes' claim she gave her blessing for them to use her childhood nickname for their second child. Their railing against the Royal Family continued a year later with the release of their controversial Netflix documentary and Harry's memoir, Spare, which overshadowed the start of the King's reign.
Legal Battles and Family Rifts
Harry dubbed Prince William his 'archnemesis' and claimed he knocked him to the floor and into a dog bowl after a row over Meghan. He also attacked his stepmother, Queen Camilla, calling her 'dangerous' and accused his relatives of a 'horrible reaction' and not inviting him on a plane from London to Balmoral to see the late Queen on the day she died. Harry was at the Coronation of the King in 2023—without his wife—but he spent less than 24 hours in the country. His legal battle against the Home Office over having his UK taxpayer-funded security reinstated was said to have driven a wedge between him and his father.
Months later, when the King announced he had been diagnosed with cancer, Harry dashed to be at his side but had just a 45-minute meeting with him at Clarence House. Recently, life in California has seen Harry take his dogs for walks on the beach, learn to surf, and make sporadic appearances on US TV chat shows, while Meghan focused on her As Ever brand selling jam, wine, and flower sprinkles.
A Shift Towards Reconciliation
Their lucrative multi-million-pound Netflix deal was watered down to a first-look deal after Meghan's lifestyle show With Love, Meghan was panned by critics, and a similar deal with Spotify was axed in 2023 after one series of her Archetypes podcast, with one company executive branding them 'grifters'. In an interview with the BBC last May, Harry appeared to change tack, admitting he didn't know how much time his father had left and saying: 'There is no point in continuing to fight anymore; life is precious.'
Last September, he had a meeting with the King at Clarence House for the first time in almost 20 months, while sources said Harry wanted 'freedom to enjoy British summers, see friends and come and go without the circus'. Earlier this month, sources told the Mirror Harry was now determined to reconcile with his family and won't do anything to jeopardise it. Harry is hoping to appear publicly with Charles at next year's Invictus Games in Birmingham, but it appears his father was blindsided by his son's decision—only learning about it on Sunday. However, there is little indication there will be such a reunion so far, with William and Harry remaining estranged.
