The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry (Harry) and Meghan Markle, plan to return to the United Kingdom at the end of this month of August, six years after abandoning their roles as active members of royalty and moving to the United States.
As reported by the British media, including The Sun and The Telegraph, the family will settle with their two children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, in a private residence, located on the outskirts of London. The children will start the next school year in a British school.
At the moment, there are no plans for Harry and Meghan to regain their official roles within the royal family.
On the other hand, the decision represents a change compared to the last years of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who, since their departure from the royal family, have established their habitual residence in California.
Keys to return
The return comes after Harry’s various efforts to once again strengthen his ties with the United Kingdom and, above all, his attempts to find an alternative that would allow him to return to the country with Meghan and his children with security measures that he considered appropriate.
Likewise, the news of the return of the dukes occurred a month after Prince Harry traveled to London with his family to reunite with his father, King Charles III of England. The meeting took on special importance, since it allowed the monarch to reunite in person with his two grandchildren after a period of separation of four years.
“Megxit” marked a turning point for the monarchy
The departure of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from the British royal family in 2020, known as “Megxit”, caused one of the biggest crises in the monarchy in recent years.
That year, the sovereign called a meeting at her residence in Sandringham, in the southeast of England, with the most prominent members of her family to resolve the so-called “Megxit”, but the conclusion was that the future of the Sussexes was unsustainable: they were either inside or outside the Royal House. After leaving the United Kingdom, the couple moved to California and permanently left their duties as active royals in March 2020.
The interview with Oprah Winfrey aggravated tensions
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s relationship with the British royal family deteriorated further after their interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which Meghan claimed that a member of the family had made comments about the possible skin tone of her son Archie before his birth in 2019. She also claimed that Catherine, Princess of Wales, made her cry during preparations for their wedding.
Elizabeth II responded with a statement in which she noted that the issues raised would be addressed privately and acknowledged that some memories may differ. Soon after, accusations emerged that Meghan had treated Buckingham Palace employees poorly, something she denied.
After abandoning their royal duties, Harry and Meghan stopped receiving funding from the Crown and signed million-dollar agreements with platforms such as Netflix and Spotify. In 2021, Elizabeth II withdrew their honorary military titles and royal patronages.
Harry’s criticism of his family
The tension continued with the Netflix documentary and the publication of “Spare”, Harry’s autobiography, in which he claimed that his brother, Prince William, attacked him during an argument over Meghan. He also criticized his stepmother, Queen Camilla, whom he described as “dangerous” for her relationship with the British press.
Since then, Harry has rarely traveled to the United Kingdom, mainly for his legal disputes related to his safety and with the media. In 2024, after learning of King Charles III’s cancer diagnosis, the duke traveled to the country to visit him, although the meeting lasted less than 45 minutes.
