Prince Harry and Meghan Plan Move Back to United Kingdom After Six Years in California

Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, plan to move back to the United Kingdom more than six years after stepping away from their roles as senior working members of Britain's royal family, and ABC News confirmed the planned move this week.

“Jobson called the news "a bit of a shock"”

ABC

ABC News royal contributor Robert Jobson said the news was "a bit of a shock" and raised questions about how much Harry's father, King Charles III, knew before he was made aware of the decision.

20Minutos

A source familiar with the matter told ABC News that Charles was first made aware of the couple's plans on Sunday and is said to welcome the opportunity to see more of the Sussex family.

The couple have lived in California with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, since stepping back from their senior royal roles in 2020, and ABC News reported that Buckingham Palace has not commented on the planned move.

Meghan and Harry are expected to relocate from the US to a private, non-royal residence outside London, with their children enrolled to start school in September, according to the BBC.

The BBC reported that questions over the level of publicly funded security in Britain have reignited after Harry and Meghan's surprise announcement to return this month, with their UK security downgraded after they stopped being working royals in 2020 and moved to the US.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the media that the couple's security arrangements were a "private matter," adding, "It's a matter for Harry and for Meghan, and we wish them well in the move that they are making."

ABC

The BBC said the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec) will now have to make a new decision because previous arrangements were based on the Sussexes not living in the UK permanently.

In a separate BBC report on the wider relationship, royal author Valentine Low said the Prince of Wales remains in no mood to forgive and forget, and quoted Harry’s earlier view that "I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight any more."

The BBC also reported that Kensington Palace has been tight-lipped since news of the Sussexes' return, with no official comment and the team not drawn into conversations about Harry and Meghan.

Beyond security, the Associated Press reported that the couple’s return could help repair a rift with the royal family, while noting that Harry refused to comment about the move to The Associated Press during an event Wednesday night.

“"I don’t know how much longer my father has."”

Associated Press

The Associated Press said Harry and Meghan have already enrolled their children Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, in British schools so they can start the autumn term alongside their peers, and that the family plans to live at a private, non-royal residence outside of London.

AP also reported that Harry has recently expressed an interest in reconciliation so he could spend more time with his father, who is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer detected in 2024, and that Harry said last year, "I don’t know how much longer my father has."

The BBC reported that the decision follows a visit in July by Prince Harry, Meghan and their children to see King Charles III at his Highgrove home in Gloucestershire, and that it was the first time the King had seen his grandchildren in person in more than four years.

Looking ahead, the BBC said there are no current plans for either Prince Harry or Meghan to resume their roles as working royals, and it reported that the duke is expected to find out more about how much he, and other high-profile complainants, will have to pay the Daily Mail publisher in costs over a failed legal battle.