Harry’s family home revealed after their return to the UK — the fate of their California mansion has been decided
Prince Harry beamed last night after announcing that he and Meghan Markle are moving back to the United Kingdom – six years after leaving for the US.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are understood to be returning for an ‘extended period’ within a matter of days, with Archie and Lilibet set to enrol at a British school.
The family will move into a non-royal residence and will not be working royals. King Charles was only told by his son on Sunday that he plans to move back to the UK later this month, while the Prince and Princess of Wales have also been informed.
It is understood that while he ‘welcomes’ the chance to see Harry and his family in a private and personal capacity, the King is clear that there will be ‘no alteration’ to the Duke and Duchess’s role and status as private individuals and non-working members of the Royal Family in keeping with their ‘clearly expressed wishes and agreement over past years’.
Sources insist, however, it is not in the Sussexes’ ‘plan’ to return to the royal fold. The Mail also understands that no mention of the family’s return was raised or discussed when Harry, Meghan and their children met with the King at Highgrove earlier this summer.
Last night, Harry was pictured broadly smiling at a roundtable event in Washington discussing increased support for veterans.
Harry was already scheduled to visit Britain to attend a WellChild Awards event next month and was set to stay in a room at Buckingham Palace.
But the Duke, 41, and Duchess, 45, no longer require accommodation for their stay with the whole family believed to be returning for an extended period within the next two weeks.
Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, will be enrolling at a school in September but it is not yet known whether the move will be a permanent one. The location of Harry and Meghan’s new home has not been revealed for privacy reasons.
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Prince Harry speaks at a roundtable event about support for veterans in Washington last night
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Harry chats with fellow red-haired veteran William Bringer at last night’s event in Washington
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The Duke of Sussex in Washington yesterday during discussions about supporting veterans
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Harry in Washington yesterday with Sarah Verado from non-profit The Independence Fund
Last night, Harry was speaking to US veterans in Washington, telling the former service members and defence officials that the ‘world needs more heroes’.
‘It’s not about creating more heroes because they already live among us,’ he said at the event organised by The Independence Fund, a US organisation which helps severely wounded veterans.
‘It’s about being able to really value their expertise, their experiences.’
The duke, who served in the Army, said military skills were not being utilised in civilian life and he was looking at a ‘commercial’ solution which he said would value ‘those who served rather than expect them to volunteer’.
In an interview with a reporter, he said there was a need for ‘moral leadership’ and expressed concerns about politics and technology, where he said a ‘very, very small group of people are making decisions that are impacting the entire world’.
‘What we need is the younger generation coming into leadership who perhaps see the world slightly differently,’ he said. ‘And I think a little less testosterone might do as well.’
Should the royals welcome Harry home?
It comes as the Sussexes’ decision to move back to the UK raises the question of how the news will be met by the Prince and Princess of Wales.
William – a future king – is estranged from his brother after Harry levelled a barrage of accusations against the prince, Kate, the King and Queen Camilla in the years since the Megxit crisis of 2020.
Former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt suggested the surprise return is likely to have left William ‘apoplectic’.
Mr Hunt said: ‘In the long term, the return of the Sussexes to the UK opens up the prospect of two rival courts, William’s and Harry’s.
‘In the short term, Harry will be able to deepen his rapprochement with his father.
‘And his presence back home will make it harder for his brother to duck a reconciliation.
‘The surprise return of Harry and Meghan is likely to have left William apoplectic.’
Lucy Powell said she hopes that Harry and Meghan’s move back to Britain will be ‘part of a bigger reconciliation’ for the royal family.
The Education Secretary told LBC: ‘I think that the vast majority of your listeners will welcome that news and – they obviously are not working royals anymore – and want to come back to this country.
‘I assume because we do have great schools, great education, that’s why many people do return to this country and choose this country to bring up their children in.
‘And I hope that this is all part of a bigger reconciliation for the family because you know the royal family is very important to this country and to our reputation around the world, and you know I for one think it’s great to have Harry and Meghan and their family back here.’
The move is also likely to spark debate as to how the British public will react to the U-turn, after the criticism the Sussexes have made about the royal family and the institution of the monarchy.
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne in April
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex at a World Health Organisation event in Jordan in February
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Harry and Meghan with their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in December 2025
A YouGov poll found last month that only 22 per cent of Britons see Meghan in a positive light, compared with 65 per cent who hold an unfavourable opinion of the former actress, with 33 per cent seeing Harry positively and 58 per cent negatively.
It is understood that Archie, seven, and Lili, five, will start at their new schools in September.
The Sussexes are set to retain their £11million home in Montecito, California, where they have lived since moving across the Atlantic Ocean. They also still own a residence in Portugal.
Harry and former Suits star Meghan, who married at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in May 2018, were once dubbed part of the ‘Fab Four’ with the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
But in March 2019, Buckingham Palace announced Harry and Meghan would set up their own household, breaking from the joint operation they had with William and Kate, amid media reports of rifts between the two couples.
In January 2020, the duke and duchess announced they intended to step back as ‘senior’ members of the royal family, become financially independent, still support Elizabeth II, but split their time between the UK and North America.
The late Queen ruled at the Sandringham Summit, which was convened to resolve the crisis, that the couple could not be half in and half out.
By March 2020, they had set up a permanent home in California, officially stepped down as senior royals and stopped using their HRH styles.
The shock announcement comes less than two months after the duke was trying to find a way to safely bring his wife and children to the UK to mark the one-year countdown to the Invictus Games in Birmingham.
At the end of June, he was still waiting for a review by the Risk Management Board (RMB), 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 behind the scenes to try to ensure the visit could take place safely.
Meghan was able to travel to the UK in July with Archie and Lilibet to join Harry when he came to the end of a week-long series of events promoting the games.
During the visit, the duke and duchess took their children to see the King for the first time in four years at his Highgrove home, but are not thought to have raised the prospect of a return to the UK at that meeting.
The Invictus Games take place from July 10 to 27 next year, with Birmingham expected to welcome around 550 wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans, and their families, from 25 nations.
Last night, a Home Office spokesperson said: ‘The UK Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate.
‘It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.’
The Home Secretary does not get involved in security arrangements for members of the royal family or other key public figures, and decisions are taken by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures.
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King Charles with Harry at Windsor Castle after Queen Elizabeth II’s death in September 2022
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The Prince and Princess of Wales with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in Windsor in 2022
The committee’s membership includes the Home Office, Metropolitan Police and the royal household, who work together to advise the independent chair in making decisions, which are informed by expert risk assessments and in line with Government policy.
The surprise news comes six years after Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals in Britain.
In a statement released at the time, following a 12-month review, Elizabeth II confirmed that they would not ‘continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service’.
The former monarch added that Harry and Meghan would not be maintaining a ‘half in, half out’ approach to their duties. Harry was later stripped of his honorary military titles.
It came after the pair, who wed in 2018, announced their decision to leave without consulting Charles, Camilla or Prince William – in a move which sparked fierce criticism.
The Duke and Duchess were accused of ‘press[ing] the nuclear button’ when they made the bombshell announcement just days after returning from a six-week break in Canada. They later permanently moved to California in March 2020.
It was claimed earlier this year that Palace staff had given Meghan the nickname ‘Duchess Difficult’ during her time living in Britain. The American was accused of bullying and, on certain occasions, even making staff cry.
It was said that workers were left ‘in a psychologically delicate state’ and ‘viewed her capacity for revenge as infinite’, an expert has alleged.
Meghan vehemently denied the allegations and described their release as an orchestrated smear campaign against her.
The bullying story was first reported in March 2021, just before Harry and Meghan were to appear on screen with Oprah Winfrey to discuss Megxit.
The Sussexes famously appeared in public together for the first time at the Toronto Invictus Games in 2017 when they were pictured hand-in-hand at a wheelchair tennis event.
They later moved to Vancouver Island in 2020 after their decision to leave the royal family was made public.
Harry’s relationship with both his father and brother, Prince William – the future monarch – is since believed to have become strained.
The duke is said to have missed living in the UK – and it has even been speculated that he has been ‘desperate’ for Archie and Lilibet to experience life in his home country.
Harry hopes that Charles will open next summer’s Invictus Games alongside him in what would be a major move towards reconciling their relationship. It is, nevertheless, currently unknown whether that will materialise.
The Sussexes had already set about rebuilding a base in Europe prior to the latest revelations, having bought a property at the plush Costa Terra resort in Portugal three years ago.
The couple and their children holidayed at the resort only a month ago as Meghan shared snaps of pristine beaches, swimming pools and restaurants to her Instagram.
SOURCE: DAILY MAIL
https://www.dailymail.com/news/royals/article-16065271/Prince-Harry-Meghan-Markle-moving-UK-Archie-Lilibet.html
