Everything We Know About Prince Harry And Meghan Markle’s Move Back To The U.K.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sparked a wave of reaction online Wednesday night after it was revealed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are returning to the U.K.Harry and Meghan are set to move imminently with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, according to The Telegraph and People magazine, who were the first
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sparked a wave of reaction online Wednesday night after it was revealed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are returning to the U.K.
Harry and Meghan are set to move imminently with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, according to The Telegraph and People magazine, who were the first to report the news.
Here’s what we know so far:
When did Harry and Meghan leave the U.K.?
The Sussexes announced they were stepping back from the royal family on Jan. 8, 2020, in a shocking post on their now-defunct Instagram account, Sussex Royal.
At the time, the two said they were “working to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen,” while also splitting their time between the U.K. and North America.
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What is the timeline for Harry and Meghan’s move?
The family of four are settling across the pond quickly, as Archie, 7, and Lili, 5, will start school in the U.K. in September.
When did King Charles and Prince William find out about the move?
People magazine reports that Charles was informed of Harry’s move on Sunday. The two had recently met in person in July. It’s unclear when William was informed of the move.
Neither Buckingham Palace nor Kensington Palace have commented on the move, and it’s likely things will stay that way.
Where are Harry and Meghan moving?
Sources close to the royal couple are keeping the royals’ whereabouts private, as they have repeatedly faced concerns about their safety over the years, though it’s thought that the family will settle outside of London. Some have speculated that the family is eyeing the Cotswolds.
One thing is clear, and that is that the family is not moving into a royal residence. Harry and Meghan were asked to vacate their U.K. home, Frogmore Cottage, in 2023 following the publication of Harry’s memoir, “Spare.”
The couple have a home in Montecito, California, and a vacation home in Portugal. It’s speculated that the couple will sell their California home, despite the move to the U.K. being billed as only “an extended period of time.”
What are the reasons for their return?
Harry and Meghan haven’t yet directly addressed why they’re heading back to the U.K.
One line of thinking is the move is for Harry and his family to be closer to King Charles III, 77, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2024. Harry made a remarkable disclosure to the BBC last year, in which he said, “I don’t know how much longer my father has. He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff.”
Though Harry and Charles weren’t speaking at the time, the two have since reconciled ― though the status of the monarch’s health remains in question.
Charles’ health aside, Harry has also spoken fondly of his love for the U.K., and wanting to show his children his home more, something he once said he hasn’t been able to do because of security concerns.
After reports circulated that Meghan was offered an acting role in the U.K., Multiple outlets reported that the duchess was in talks to potentially join Guy Ritchie’s Netflix series, “The Gentlemen.”
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“I can’t see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the U.K. at this point,” he told BBC last year. “The things that they’re going to miss is, well, everything. I love my country … despite what some people in that country have done … and I think that it’s really quite sad that I won’t be able to show my children my homeland.”
Harry and Meghan ended up bringing their children to the U.K. in July, where the family met privately with King Charles and Queen Camilla.
What do people in the U.K. think?
According to a YouGov poll conducted and published on Thursday, 44% of Britons say they don’t know if the couple should move back, while 33% of those surveyed think the royals should not return ― leaving 21% in favor of the move.
U.K Prime Minister Andy Burnham was nonplussed on Thursday while answering a question concerning security for the couple, who will remain non-working royals despite their move. Harry was stripped of his publicly funded security after he stepped back as a working royal. He has repeatedly gone back and forth with the U.K. government over security protections for himself and his family.
“Well, this is a private matter,” Burnham told reporters. “It’s a matter for Harry and for Megan, and we wish them well in the moves that they’re making.”
On a less serious note, Madame Tussauds London is taking the news quite well. The company shared in a release with HuffPost that it “has temporarily moved the figures of Harry and Meghan to the British Culture Capital Zone” and added suitcases to commemorate their move.
Ben Gregory-Ring/Madame Tussauds London
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