Prince Harry may have dropped a hint about his wish to return with his family to the UK almost a year ago. The Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, will move back to the UK by the end of August with their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet for an extended period.
Hint at the WellChild Awards
Harry may have hinted at such a move during a chat with singer Joss Stone at the WellChild Awards in September last year. At the time, Stone had just moved back to Devon with her family after 14 years in Nashville, Tennessee.
Stone told Hello! magazine that the Duke had asked her how well they were settling back in, adding Harry "was genuinely interested" in their move home. The singer praised Harry as "very warm and down to earth", speculating that "maybe" he would move back too.
School Plans and Royal Welcome
Stone told Hello!: "He was saying how wonderful the schools are here and how important community is for children." Reports of the exchange have resurfaced after it emerged on Wednesday that the Duke and Duchess will return to the UK with their children. Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, have already been enrolled in British schools and are expected to start in early September.
It is understood that King Charles has welcomed the opportunity to see more of the family in a private and personal capacity. The move is for an extended period of time, but is not permanent.
Status and Future Plans
The status of the Sussexes will remain the same and the couple will not be offered a "half-in, half-out" option when it comes to their roles. Harry and Meghan will keep their homes in Montecito, California, and Portugal, while the Duchess will continue to run her lifestyle brand, As Ever, from their new base.
The return of the Duke and Duchess marks the latest bombshell in the long-running saga surrounding the couple since the so-called "Megxit" crisis. Harry and Meghan announced in January 2020 that they wanted to step down as senior royals for a dual life, earning their own money in the US and supporting the monarch. The then monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, held a summit at Sandringham with the outcome that the Sussexes' semi-royal role was deemed unworkable – they were either in or out. Six years later, they are moving back.
In March 2020, the Sussexes had found a permanent home in Los Angeles, California. On March 31 of that year, Harry and Meghan officially stepped down as senior royals and stopped using their HRH styles. Meghan and Harry have not commented publicly on their reasons for moving back to Britain. Asked about it on Wednesday in Washington DC at an event for US veterans, Harry replied: "Nothing to say." Their relocation comes just weeks after the couple took their children to see King Charles for the first time in four years at his Highgrove home. The pair are not thought to have raised the prospect of a return to the UK at that meeting.
