Harry and Meghan reportedly plan UK return and school enrolment
Developed over time first seen 2 months ago
Prince Harry and Meghan are reportedly preparing to leave their home in Montecito, California, and resettle in Britain within weeks, with sons Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, due to start at a British school in September. According to commentary in the Daily Mail, the King was informed of the decision only on the Sunday before publication, by which point the move was effectively already set in motion, with the couple said to be looking at a private house outside London, possibly in the Cotswolds.
The report suggests preparations for the children's school enrolment would have taken months, despite the move appearing sudden, and notes the couple intend to keep their Montecito property and Portuguese villa rather than relocate permanently. It also links the timing to health concerns around King Charles, who remains in cancer treatment, and to the resignation of his senior aide Sir Clive Alderton, while stressing the Sussexes' status as non-working royals would not change. The commentary further raises the security implications of Archie and Lilibet's places in the line of succession, and recalls Harry's May 2025 remarks to the BBC that he could not envisage bringing his family back to live in the UK.
- Harry and Meghan reportedly to relocate from California to Britain within weeks
- Archie and Lilibet said to be starting British school in September
- Report links move to King Charles's health and a senior aide's resignation
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Prince Harry and his wife Meghan gave up their duties as working members of the royal family in 2020, moving to the United States and settling in Montecito, California with their two children, Archie and Lilibet. Since then they have lived largely outside the UK, building careers in media, business ventures and public speaking, while keeping the children away from British public life.
Reports now suggest the couple are considering a move back to Britain and putting their children into local schools, a step that would reverse years of physical and public distance from the UK. This matters because it touches on the couple's finances, their strained relationship with other senior royals, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, and Harry's own past remarks ruling out such a return, all of which shape how any move would be read.
The story sits within the wider, long-running narrative of the Sussexes' departure from royal duties and their subsequent life in America, a saga that has drawn sustained public and media interest in the UK and internationally.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Those inclined to take the reported move at face value note that Harry and Meghan have consistently said family and their children's wellbeing come first, and that giving Archie and Lilibet a British education and closer ties to grandparents, cousins and wider family is a legitimate, even admirable, priority that any parent might reassess over time. People's circumstances and views can genuinely change over six years, and reading every family decision as a calculated PR or financial manoeuvre risks denying the couple the ordinary human right to reconsider what is best for their children. Supporters would argue it is unfair to assume bad faith simply because a past statement has been superseded by new circumstances.
The case against
Sceptics of the couple's public narrative point out that the timing coincides with reported softening in their commercial deals, and argue it is fair to ask whether a return serves to refresh their brand and public standing as much as it serves their children. They note the apparent contradiction with Harry's own recent comments ruling out a UK return, suggesting that stated motives should be weighed against a pattern of previous announcements that have not always matched later actions. This view holds that public figures inviting media attention to their family choices should expect their reasoning to be scrutinised rather than accepted uncritically.
Coverage
- Daily Mail — How will Meghan and Harry pay for it all?
- Daily Mail — ‘Gwyneth is glad Meghan is moving out of Montecito’: The Sussexes’ neighbors deliver brutal verdict on move back to UK… as insiders reveal ‘Hollywood chatter’ and one local says, ‘We don’t really give a cr**’
- Daily Mail — The real reason my friends Harry and Meghan are finally coming back to Britain – and how their new life will look: BRYONY GORDON
- Daily Mail — ROBERT HARDMAN: This is not a happy ever after – and there are still bumps in the long road ahead. But a divided royal house is a diminished royal house. Divisions remain – but as of today, those gaps have narrowed a little
- Daily Mail — The idea that his little brother is going to swan back in to steal William’s thunder must be enraging: SARAH VINE