Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly preparing to leave their Montecito home later this month and move with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet to a private residence outside London, while remaining outside official Royal duties.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are preparing to move their family from California back to the United Kingdom later this month, marking a major reversal more than six years after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped away from Royal duties and established a new life in the United States.
The couple plans to leave their Montecito residence and settle in a privately owned, non-Royal home outside London, according to reports first published by the Daily Telegraph and Sun.
Their two children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, are expected to make the move with them. Both children have been enrolled in a British school and are scheduled to begin attending when the new academic year starts in September.
King Charles III was not informed of the family’s plans until Sunday, according to the BBC.
Despite returning to Britain, neither Harry nor Meghan is currently expected to resume duties as a working member of the Royal Family. Reports indicate that they intend to continue living as private individuals and are seeking a life away from the level of public attention that has followed them during much of their marriage.
Their formal status within the House of Windsor is not expected to change. Harry and Meghan will continue to hold the titles Duke and Duchess of Sussex even while remaining outside the working Royal structure.
Harry also remains fifth in the line of succession to his father, King Charles III, and there has been no indication that he intends to relinquish either his title or his position in the succession.
The impending move brings the Sussex family back to the country they left during one of the most consequential breaks with the modern Royal Family.
Harry and Meghan withdrew from their roles as senior working Royals in early 2020. After spending time in Canada, they relocated to California in March of that year and ultimately established themselves in Montecito, an affluent enclave known for its celebrity residents.
The couple pursued a financially independent life in the United States through a series of high-profile commercial ventures.
Those efforts included major entertainment agreements with Netflix and Spotify, while Meghan moved into consumer products through her As Ever company.
Harry has spoken repeatedly about the pressures he associated with Royal life and intense public scrutiny. He previously described his existence within the Royal Family and the public spotlight as being “trapped within this bubble,” saying the experience affected his mental health.
His relationship with Britain since leaving has often been marked by short visits, legal disputes and continuing tensions surrounding security and press coverage.
One of his most recent trips to the UK, in July, coincided with a significant defeat in the High Court.
Harry and several other prominent plaintiffs had brought a privacy case against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. They accused the newspaper group of using unlawful methods to gather information for stories.
Associated Newspapers strongly denied the allegations.
The High Court ruled against Harry and the other plaintiffs, leaving them potentially responsible for millions of pounds in the publisher’s legal expenses.
Associated Newspapers subsequently filed documents stating that its legal costs in the case totaled 34.5 million pounds, or approximately $47 million.
Harry has repeatedly criticized British press coverage of both himself and Meghan and has described what he views as persistent intrusion into their private lives.
During court proceedings in January, Harry said of the effect on Meghan: “They’ve made my wife’s life an absolute misery.”
He has also previously spoken about finding time in London difficult, making the decision to return with his wife and children particularly notable.
The reported relocation does not signal a reconciliation with the institutional role Harry and Meghan abandoned in 2020. Instead, the couple appears set to return to Britain under an arrangement distinctly separate from official Royal life, living outside London rather than in a Royal residence and without plans to undertake public duties on behalf of the monarchy.
Their children, however, will now begin a new chapter in the country where their father was born and where much of their extended Royal family remains.
Harry and Meghan’s move will also place them geographically much closer to King Charles and the wider House of Windsor after years spent primarily in California.
For now, their return represents a change in residence rather than a restoration of their former Royal positions. They are expected to retain their Sussex titles and private status while Harry continues to occupy his place in the line of succession.
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