Prince Harry is preparing to return to Britain with his family just over a year after declaring he could not envisage bringing his wife and children back to the UK. The Duke, 41, and Duchess of Sussex, 45, are moving back with Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, for an extended period, with their children due to start school here in September.
It marks an extraordinary change of direction for Harry, who has spent much of the six years since Megxit publicly detailing why he felt royal life - and Britain itself, had become untenable. Through Oprah Winfrey, Netflix, his memoir Spare and a string of television interviews, the Duke has made explosive allegations about the monarchy, his own family, the British press and the establishment.
Some went considerably further than accounts of a simple family fallout, with the Duke portraying royal life as a trap and accusing Palace operations of leaking and planting stories. So, as the Sussexes prepare to put down roots on British soil once again, here are seven of Harry’s most extraordinary claims about the country and institution he is returning to.
Security concerns and the 'establishment stitch-up'
Perhaps the most striking claim in light of his impending return came only in May 2025. After losing his Court of Appeal challenge over his security arrangements, Harry told the BBC: “I can’t see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK at this point.” He said there were many things Archie and Lilibet would miss about his homeland, but maintained that security concerns prevented him from safely bringing them back. Just over a year later, all four Sussexes are preparing to return, with the children set to attend school in Britain.
Prince Harry went further during that same BBC interview, turning his fire on the British establishment following his court defeat. The Duke described the outcome as a “good old fashioned establishment stitch up” and said the process had uncovered his “worst fears”. Buckingham Palace responded at the time that the issues had been examined “repeatedly and meticulously” by the courts.
Royal life as a trap and a 'dirty game'
One of Harry’s bleakest descriptions of royal life came during the Sussexes’ bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview in March 2021. Harry said: “I was trapped, but I didn’t know I was trapped,” before extending the description to his father and brother, saying they were “trapped” and “don’t get to leave”. It painted an extraordinary picture of the institution Harry had been born into - and one that he had only recently escaped.
Perhaps one of Harry’s most damaging accusations came in the same Netflix series when he contrasted the treatment of himself and Meghan with that of his elder brother. The Prince alleged: “They were happy to lie to protect my brother,” while claiming officials were unwilling to “tell the truth” to protect the Sussexes. The allegation struck directly at the integrity of Palace communications and suggested William had received institutional protection that Harry believed he and Meghan were denied.
Defending going public and comparing royal life to a zoo
Prince Harry later defended his decision to air private royal grievances publicly during his January 2023 interview with Anderson Cooper on CBS’s 60 Minutes. He claimed attempts to resolve matters privately had been followed by “briefings and leakings and planting of stories” against himself and Meghan. Explaining why he had subsequently gone public, Harry declared: “There becomes a point when silence is betrayal.” It effectively became his justification for taking an intensely private royal feud onto the world stage.
Harry offered one of his most startling descriptions of growing up royal during a 2021 appearance on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast. He compared the experience to “a mixture between The Truman Show and being in a zoo”, while revealing that in his twenties he had thought: “I don’t want this job, I don’t want to be here.”
