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It’s official: after six years in the US, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are moving back to the UK.
Yes, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will return to Harry’s home country later this month with their two children, according to a report from NBC News.
The family is expected to remain in Britain for an “extended period,” with Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, reportedly set to begin school there in September.
But don’t expect Harry and Meghan to be moving back into a royal residence — or resuming their royal duties.
The couple will reportedly live in a private residence and remain non-working members of the Royal Family, just as they have since stepping down from their senior roles in 2020.
Buckingham Palace and Harry’s spokesperson have declined to comment on the move, but many believe the couple may wish to be closer to King Charles as he battles cancer.
Still, the decision represents a remarkable turnaround for a couple who spent the past six years building a new life in California.
Harry and Meghan famously left the UK in 2020, eventually settling in Montecito, where they purchased a reported $14.7 million mansion.
Their departure was followed by a series of explosive interviews and projects that exposed deep divisions within the Royal Family, including their 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, their Netflix docuseries and Harry’s memoir, Spare.
Harry’s relationship with his father has also been strained for years. But that relationship appears to be improving.
Charles was diagnosed with cancer in 2024, and Harry, Meghan and their children visited Britain last month. The trip marked the first time the King had seen Archie and Lilibet since 2022.
And while Charles reportedly welcomed the idea of having his youngest son and grandchildren closer, the monarch apparently didn’t know about the family’s plans until Sunday.
Harry’s relationship with his older brother, Prince William, remains considerably more complicated.
The brothers have been estranged for years, and there is little indication that Harry and Meghan’s return to Britain will magically repair that relationship.
There are also no indications that Harry and Meghan intend to abandon their American life completely.
The couple have built a business empire since leaving royal duties, including deals with Netflix and Spotify. Some of those ventures have been more successful than others, but the Sussexes have continued to maintain their public profiles from California.
For now, however, Harry and Meghan appear ready to make Britain home again, at least for the foreseeable future.
And after everything that happened when they left, that’s one royal plot twist we definitely didn’t see coming.