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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have discovered that the grass isn’t always greener after all as they pack up their life in California to return to the UK.
After years of raising security concerns and insisting he wanted to spare his children the trauma of growing up royal, Harry’s about‑turn is remarkable.
He is now preparing to bring Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet straight back into the metaphorical lion’s den.
“I was trapped but I didn’t know I was trapped,” he proudly boasted of his escape to Oprah Winfrey in 2021. “Trapped within the system like the rest of the family. My father [King Charles III] and my brother [Prince William] are trapped. They don’t get to leave and I have huge compassion for that.”
Now, however, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expected to return within days, having already secured a non‑royal residence outside of London and enrolled their children in a British school.
The irony is hard to miss. It turns out Harry may not have needed to leave at all. He simply needed a six‑year holiday.
Why Harry and Meghan are laying down UK roots
The Sussexes’ new home and school choice for Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, is being kept tightly under wraps for security reasons.
In 2022, Meghan told The Cut that school drop‑off in Britain wasn’t something she could do “without it being a royal photo call with a press pen of 40 people snapping pictures.” That reality hasn’t changed — so why come back?
While Harry and Meghan are keeping their Montecito mansion, it’s clear they’re laying down roots in Britain. Dubbed a “long‑term stay,” this return is widely seen as a trial run to determine whether they can make a go of life in the UK again.
Speculation is already swirling. Their new residence may be in the picture‑perfect Cotswolds — a celebrity haven for stars like David and Victoria Beckham, and home to King Charles’ Highgrove House.
Another possibility is Northamptonshire, placing Harry closer to his Spencer relatives and Althorp House, where his mother, Princess Diana, is buried. With more than 20 properties on the estate, and Harry having visited in July, it’s not impossible that he could base himself there.
The signs you may have missed
The news caught many people by surprise, but once the initial shock faded, the signs were easy to spot.
Just in July, Harry casually described his job as “Prince of England” while appearing on the Joe Marler Will See You Now podcast — a striking shift from the years he spent distancing himself from royal identity.
His recent media appearances have also softened. The bitterness has faded, he no longer takes aim at his brother, and we’re seeing flashes of the old loveable larrikin as he attempts to win back public goodwill.
He has been stepping up his duties in the UK ahead of the Invictus Games in Birmingham next July and had already been expected to make several more visits between now and then.
After being largely estranged for years, Harry met with his father twice in the past 12 months. First, during a 50‑minute sit‑down over tea at Clarence House in September. Then, his family joined the King and Queen Camilla for an hour‑long meeting at Highgrove on July 10.
“I would love reconciliation with my family,” Harry said in May 2025. “There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore. Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has. He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff, but it would be nice to reconcile.”
Charles continues to live with cancer. His treatment has been cut back this year to allow him to carry out more duties and he has been doing well, but he is also 77. These may well be the final years Harry has a chance to put things somewhat right.
If Harry truly wants to repair the relationship, a fleeting hour every year won’t cut it. Harry needs to be on the ground — and this stay will give him that chance. Even if it’s just to get Charles at his side for the Invictus Games next year.
Why the American dream isn’t over just yet
Clearly, things haven’t gone as well as the Sussexes might have hoped in LA. After a strong start, their multimillion‑dollar deals with Netflix and Spotify have fallen by the wayside. Cooking and lifestyle show With Love, Meghan has been given the chop and projects like Pearl failed to make it past pre-production.
After the novelty of having royals next door in LA wore off, their titles, which the family continues to use, haven’t attracted the same level of respect and deference that Harry is used too.
But while few thought Meghan would ever set foot in the UK again — the place that made her say, “I just didn’t want to be alive anymore” — it seems she is actually the driving force behind the move.
As Harry once infamously told Angela Kelly in a fight over tiaras: “What Meghan wants, Meghan gets.”
Bronte Coy has revealed that the duchess will be doing much more than just selling jam in the UK. Meghan has been “offered a role in an upcoming project based in the UK,” she reports.
Further reports have revealed that Meghan is in talks to star in the third season of Guy Ritchie’s big budget hit Netflix drama, The Gentleman. The comedy-drama series is fronted by Theo James who plays an aristocrat that is hiding a underground cannabis farm on his estate.
The crime series is predominately filmed at Badminton estate in Gloucestershire, which is quite close to Highgrove. Series 2 premieres in September.
The family are keeping their Montecito mansion and can return at the conclusion, with a major TV credit to her name could help Meghan be more successful in the US.
But it could also be a way of keeping their options open. If Harry and Meghan receive a much warmer welcome from the public than expected, it will be hard to see him packing up and leaving again.
The Wales factor
Much like everything the Sussexes do, their big move has left the public polarised. There is excitement from some, others worry.
While the King is believed to be looking forward to spending more time with the grandchildren he barely knows, there are a few family members who must be feeling dread.
The Prince and Princess of Wales have largely put Harry and Meghan behind them after years of being in their firing line and bearing the brunt of accusations through TV tell‑alls and Harry’s memoir Spare.
Aside from William’s single comment that “we are very much not a racist family,” he and Princess Catherine have kept their lips zipped and maintained their dignity while devoting themselves to their family of five, their duties, and Kate’s health as she recovered from treatment for cancer.
As the Sussexes return, the spotlight inevitably turns on William and Kate and what their reaction will be. Online, the chatter is already questioning whether William can be the bigger man, forgive and forget, and put it in the past for the benefit of the royal family.
However, I fully support William maintaining distance between himself and his brother to protect his mental health and family, just as I respect Meghan’s decision to cut off contact with her father, Thomas Markle, because of the despicable things he has put her through, such as handing over a private letter to the media.
No doubt, what happens next will be a hot topic of discussion as the Wales family visit the King and Queen this summer at Balmoral.
No one is expecting Harry and William to start carrying out engagements together, or to see Meghan step out wearing a tiara beside Kate at a State Banquet at Windsor Castle.
But it could affect semi‑public events, such as when the family gathers at Sandringham for Christmas.
Whether Harry and Meghan will go—or even score an invite—remains to be seen. But if they do, we might just see William and Kate sit this year out and celebrate with the Middletons instead.
The pressure will be on the King to try and keep all sides of the family happy in the months ahead.
Can Harry have it all?
Not that long ago, Harry called it “really quite sad” that he couldn’t safely show his children around his homeland due to ongoing security concerns.
“I can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the U.K. at this point,” he said.
That situation remains unchanged. As they return, it won’t be victorious behind a police motorcade. The battle for their security rages on.
After losing his appeal against Ravec to have his protection reinstated, Harry continues to wait for the review.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called it a “matter” for the couple to sort out themselves—but he is not in charge of that decision.
Having the Sussexes on the ground in Britain may force local authorities’ hands. No politician or head of law enforcement or public safety wants harm to come to Harry, Meghan, or their children on their watch or be left with it on their conscience.
If a threat is deemed relevant, we could see their security provided on a needs basis or for specific periods of time, like when Taylor Swift received it during her 2024 concerts after her Vienna shows were cancelled due to a terrorism plot.
Palace sources have been firm that this is not a way to return to duties, and they see no future where the half‑in, half‑out model will be accepted.
But that doesn’t mean “fully in” has been ruled out by the King, not for Meghan, but for his son. The one‑in, one‑out model Charles once proposed that saw Meghan work and Harry carry out duties on behalf of the Crown could be seen as the solution.
Either way, it is win‑win for Harry. He will either be reconciled with his family and back in the fold, or next year he’ll be taking another “freedom flight” back to Montecito with enough new material to write a sequel to Spare.
Read more expert opinion and analysis in WHO’s The Royal Verdict with Kylie Walters here.
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