Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are reportedly moving back to the UK, six years after starting a new life in the United States. The couple, who have been raising Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in Montecito, will say goodbye for a while to some of their closest friends in California, including Meghan's Suits co-star Abigail Spencer and long-time BFF Kelly McKee Zajfen. Harry has also maintained a friendship with record producer David Foster and his wife, Katherine McPhee.
Lifelong Friends in Britain
While it's unknown how the Sussexes currently fare with the British Royal Family, the couple can count on several celebrity pals in the UK, many of whom they've known for years.
Elton John and his husband, David Furnish, have been loyal to Harry for decades, despite rumours of a rift following their lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Ltd. “I’ll always love him,” Harry said of Elton in his memoir, Spare. Elton, a close friend of Harry's late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, has taken on a godfather-esque role to the duke and his brother, Prince William.
Support and Safe Havens
Elton and Furnish have frequently offered their properties to Meghan and Harry for family holidays or privacy. After the Sussexes were criticised for using a private jet in 2023, Elton released a statement in their defence, citing a “profound sense of obligation to protect Harry and his family from the unnecessary press intrusion that contributed to Diana’s untimely death.” The couple own a multi-million-pound property in London's Holland Park.
Photographer and filmmaker Misan Harriman remains a close confidante, having captured Meghan's 2021 pregnancy announcement and Princess Lilibet's 2022 first birthday portrait. Speaking with People magazine in 2024, he described Meghan as a “sister”.
Royal Connections and Invictus Ties
Hugh Grosvenor, the 7th Duke of Westminster, shares a close friendship with Harry and William from childhood. He is godfather to both Prince George and Prince Archie. Following his 2024 wedding to Olivia Henson, the couple welcomed a daughter named Cosima.
Harry shares a bond with Scottish presenter and Invictus Games medalist JJ Chalmers. “I wouldn’t be standing here today if it wasn’t for the Invictus Games, and we would never have had that if it wasn’t for him,” JJ said in 2020. Last month, JJ joined Harry on the Joe Marler Will See You Now podcast to discuss the 2027 Invictus Games, where JJ is expected to continue as an ambassador.
American Neighbours in the UK
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, though not British, are currently living in the UK. The Sussexes became close after moving into the same Montecito neighbourhood in 2020, and attended their vow renewal in 2023. Following Donald Trump's re-election, the couple moved to the Cotswolds in 2024, an area also home to the Beckhams and close to Highgrove House. Perhaps Meghan and Harry will follow suit and move their family there too.
