They left in a blaze of controversy, settled in California and spent years locked in legal battles with the British establishment. Now, in a move that has caught almost everyone off guard — including King Charles himself — Prince Harry and Meghan are coming home.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are planning to relocate from the United States to a private, non-royal residence outside London later this month, the BBC understands. Their children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, have been enrolled to start at a British school in September.
'Surprise Is an Understatement'
Royal expert Robert Hardman summed up the mood rather neatly. 'Surprise is an understatement,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme, adding that the Sussexes 'have always been very good at delivering surprises.' The children being enrolled in school, he noted, is significant — a signal that they intend to raise Archie and Lilibet as 'British rather than American'.
King Charles was only informed of the move last Sunday, just days before the announcement broke publicly. Despite not being given advance notice, he is said to warmly welcome the opportunity to see more of the Sussex family in a private and personal capacity. The Prince and Princess of Wales have also been told.
A source close to the couple told the BBC that the 'stars had aligned' at this particular moment to make the move work for their family, describing Harry and Meghan as an international couple who love to travel — but who will, for the foreseeable future, be based in the UK.
Security Questions Remain Unanswered
The elephant in the room, as ever, is security. Harry previously told the BBC that he 'can't see a world' in which he would bring his family to the UK, citing the downgrading of his protection after he ceased being a working royal. Last year, he lost a legal challenge seeking to overturn that decision.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said security arrangements were 'a private matter... it's a matter for Harry and for Meghan, and we wish them well in the move that they are making.'
With the Sussexes now permanently relocating rather than visiting, the Royal and VIP Executive Committee — known as Ravec, the independent body overseen by the Home Office — will be required to make an entirely new assessment of their protection needs. Whether that means taxpayer-funded security, or whether Harry will have to supplement any provision from his own pocket, remains to be seen. The couple's private US security team were not available for comment when asked by the BBC whether they would be making the move across the Atlantic too.
A Relationship Slowly Rebuilt
The move comes after what appeared to be a quietly significant thaw in family relations. In July, Harry, Meghan and the children visited the King at his Highgrove home in Gloucestershire — the first time Charles had seen his grandchildren in person in more than four years, and the couple's first joint visit to the UK since attending the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.
David Wiseman of the Invictus Games Foundation said Harry had 'mentioned to me actually that he was missing the UK' during their July meeting — though Wiseman admitted he had taken it as 'a bit of sentimentality'.
The Sussexes stepped back from royal duties in early 2020 before settling in California. There are no current plans for either Harry or Meghan to resume working royal roles, and their official status will remain unchanged — private individuals, not senior royals.
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Still, whatever the legal or security complexities ahead, one fact speaks louder than any statement: Archie and Lilibet are enrolled in school. The Sussexes aren't just visiting. They're staying.
