JUST IN: King Charles Makes Shocking Move Showing He’s ‘Happy’ to Spend More Time With the Sussex Family as Harry and Meghan Land in Britain — But One Small Detail Has Everyone Talking.
Harry and Meghan land in Britain: Sussexes arrive with Archie and Lilibet on private jet as children prepare to start at UK school next week
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet arrived back in Britain on Wednesday afternoon as they return after six years in the US.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex landed at Birmingham Airport around midday after flying on a private plane from California to start their new life in the country.
The couple are thought to have travelled with the children on a Bombardier Global Express XRS luxury long-range business jet, from Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles.
They chartered the jet with Planet Nine Private Air, a California-based private aircraft operator. Hiring it is believed to cost about $12,000 (£9,000) per hour of flight time.
The family are understood to have been given no police protection for their arrival, amid ongoing questions over whether taxpayers will foot the bill for their security.
The Sussexes – who are also believed to be bringing their dogs Mia and Pula across the Atlantic – are now setting up their home in the UK. They plan to live as an ‘international’ family, keeping their homes in California and Portugal.
Their announcement that they were returning to Britain came as a shock after they quit the working monarchy in 2020 and bought a house in Montecito.
Former Suits star Meghan is said to be pursuing an acting role amid reports that she remains in talks about a role in the third series of Guy Ritchie‘s The Gentlemen.
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at a David Foster Foundation event in Canada on August 7
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Harry and Meghan with their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in December 2025
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This is believed to be the plane that brought Prince Harry and Meghan to Birmingham Airport
Harry, 41, and Meghan, 45, will live in a non-royal residence outside of London and the children have both been enrolled in UK schools ready to start next week.
It comes a month after the couple took Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, to see their grandfather the King for the first time in four years at his Highgrove home in July.
The couple are not thought to have raised the prospect of a return to the UK at that meeting. The King was told they were moving back three days before it was revealed.
Some reports have suggested the Sussexes’ stay in the UK could last just until the autumn, with the family keeping their houses in Montecito and Portugal.
Meghan meanwhile has unveiled the latest addition to her As Ever range – Spiced Apple Butter.
The jar of ‘orchard apples and fragrant spices’ was being launched on Wednesday, ‘just in time for fall’, with Meghan’s brand saying the product captures the season’s ‘promise of crisp mornings and changing leaves just around the corner’.
She also posted an Instagram story in which she chuckled at what appeared to be a tea towel with the message: ‘People who take care of chickens are literally chicken tenders’.
It follows news that the Sussexes’ brood of chickens are remaining at their home in California to be cared for there.
Sussex-friendly People magazine suggested yesterday that the monarch wanted to see his estranged sons Harry and the Prince of Wales ‘together over time’, but the report has not been confirmed.
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William, Kate and George arrive for a church service at Crathie Kirk near Balmoral on Sunday
According to Harry’s autobiography, Charles pleaded with his sons during a tense meeting after Prince Philip’s funeral in 2021, saying: ‘Please, boys. Don’t make my final years a misery.’
The brothers no longer speak, having fallen out around the time of Harry and Meghan’s 2018 wedding, with the relationship worsening post-Megxit following Harry’s accusations against the Royal Family in his Oprah Winfrey interview, Netflix documentary and memoir Spare.
Separately, sources close to Harry claimed he ‘never really stopped missing home’ after stepping down as a senior royal and leaving Britain for the US six years ago.
The duke is said to have ‘missed that sense of connection and belonging’ in the UK while building a new life in California with Meghan.
Harry also wants their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet to ‘understand the world he grew up in and where their family comes from’, according to insiders.
Now, the family are set to return to Britain where they will live for an ‘extended period’ of time, with the children enrolled in UK schools ready to start next month.
Sources, speaking to People, said the decision to move was ‘taken as a family’ and they want to ‘give the kids the opportunity to be here’.
Meghan, who was born and raised in Los Angeles, is also feeling ‘very fortunate that they’re able to give Archie and Lilibet the opportunity to experience both worlds’.
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King Charles III and Queen Camilla at the RHS Sandringham Flower Show in Norfolk last month
Will returning to the UK be good for Harry and Meghan?
Harry will also be involved in preparations for his next Invictus Games in Birmingham in July 2027, with the source saying he ‘will be in the weeds on it every day’.
Meanwhile the rest of the Royal Family gathered at Balmoral for their summer break.
Charles arrived at the Aberdeenshire summer retreat on Tuesday last week and William and Kate have since been pictured at the estate, as well as the Princess Royal and her brother the Duke of Edinburgh.
William and Kate have not reacted publicly to the news of the Sussexes’ return, but may have private conversations with the wider family during the break.
The future king is estranged from his younger brother after Harry levelled a barrage of accusations against him, Kate and the King and Queen in the wake of his stepping back from royal duties.
Charles is said to be happy to be able to spend more time with the Sussex family, but remains adamant they will not be working royals.
Harry and Meghan have not commented on their reasons for relocating to the UK, though a source close to the duchess did not deny reporting that she has been offered an acting role.
Questions have been raised over the Sussexes’ finances as decisions about whether taxpayers will foot the bill for their security remain unanswered but the duchess will continue to run her lifestyle brand, As Ever, from their new base.
After his level of protection changed when he stepped down as a working royal in 2020, the duke has faced a protracted legal battle with the Home Office over security for him and his family while they are in the UK, and their arrangements may change when they become permanent residents again.
At the end of June, Harry was still waiting for a review by the Risk Management Board, part of the process by which the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) rules on his security requirements – and he and his security detail were working to try to ensure his July visit could go ahead safely.
Individual decisions on protective security for key public figures, including members of the Royal Family, are made by Ravec – which includes the Home Office, Metropolitan Police and Royal Household – which advises an independent chairman.
Rumours are rife over where Harry and Meghan will choose to settle, with suggestions including rural locations in the Cotswolds.
Archie and Lilibet are expected to start at their new schools next week, at the beginning of the autumn term, and it is understood there will be no published photographs of the children when they start or on their birthdays.
The Daily Mail has contacted a representative of the Sussexes for comment on the couple’s return.
A spokesman told the BBC: ‘This is not something we would comment on.’
