The news that Britain’s Prince Harry and his American wife, Meghan, are returning to England raises not just eyebrows but a lot of questions.
When Harry and Meghan, formally the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, opted out of royal life in 2020, the fallout was seismic. The House of Windsor hadn’t been so publicly rejected by a senior royal since King Edward VIII gave up his throne in 1936. But even the abdication crisis didn’t spark the global controversies the Sussexes unleashed: Through a televised sit-down with Oprah Winfrey and a Netflix docuseries, Harry and Meghan, who is biracial, roiled societies on both sides of the Atlantic with allegations of racism (including from royal relatives), accounts of unfair and unrelenting media pressure, and Meghan’s disclosure that she had considered suicide.
Yet for all their criticisms of Britain and their time there, the couple have enrolled their children in British schools and are moving back to England.
Harry has said he misses his family and wants his children to know Britain.
Among the few things we know for sure: They have lined up a private home outside London and are not slated to resume royal duties. Many are wondering how they will make money (and how Harry will pay the bills for his various legal cases; the cost for the privacy court case he lost last month against the publisher of the Daily Mail was announced Friday: about $45 million across seven claimants). The issue of government-provided security that Harry has pursued in court for years remains unresolved. (“This is a private matter … for Harry and Meghan,” Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Thursday when asked about security arrangements.)
Despite the problems they’ve expressed with royal life and their treatment in Britain, there are reasons why the couple would choose to return. Here are some possibilities:
Repairing the rift
Harry has said he misses his family and wants his children to know Britain (where Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, are sixth and seventh in line to the throne). When the Sussexes visited England last month and had tea with Harry’s father, King Charles III, it was the first time Charles had seen Lilibet in person since 2022. Charles, 77, was diagnosed with cancer in 2024; last December, he announced that he was doing well and scaling back treatment, but he has not disclosed what type of cancer he has or his prognosis.
Harry told the BBC in May 2025 that he “would love reconciliation with my family.” Some relatives “will never forgive me for writing a book,” he said, referring to his tell-all memoir, “Spare.” But he also said: “Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has. He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff. But it would be nice to reconcile.”
Proximity presumably would make that easier. And attempting the thaw while Charles is king is key: Harry’s older brother, Prince William, reportedly remains deeply angry over his brother’s book and opposes welcoming the Sussexes back into the fold.
A British base
Among the spicy allegations in “Spare” was Harry’s contention that his stepmother, Queen Camilla, threw him “right under the bus” by planting critical stories about him in the media. Palace royals have remained silent about the book. But Harry and Meghan were evicted from their royal home, Frogmore Cottage, after “Spare” was published. And in May, Britain’s Sun reported that millions of pounds’ worth of renovations the couple had spent on Frogmore were being reversed, with the property to be converted into staff lodging. (“Petty” is the term you’re looking for.)
The lack of a U.K. residence has been an issue for Harry during his visits. The prince publicly squabbled with palace staff over a nixed plan for him to stay at Buckingham Palace last month. Having a home in Britain would allow Harry to see family more frequently and also be more present in the run-up to next year’s Invictus Games, a charity sports competition he founded for wounded veterans. The 2027 events are to be held in Birmingham, England.
The Sussexes are reportedly planning an “extended stay” in England, though they are keeping their homes in Montecito, California, and Portugal. They seem to be testing the waters for a school year — with ready options to leave if things don’t go well.
Many media reports have focused on security questions: Harry has said he did not feel safe bringing his family to Britain unless their police protection — dropped when he and Meghan left their public roles — was restored; he has sued the government and previously offered to pay security costs. The couple might have been encouraged that during their July visit, there were no leaks of their family’s locations.
Some reports have focused on the challenge ahead for Meghan; the subhead on one critical column Thursday snarked: “Royal couple’s move back to Blighty will require adjustment for actress as she leaves her matcha-scented sanctuary of Montecito.” The only person less popular than Meghan in YouGov’s latest polling on British royal approval ratings is Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who lost his title of prince over his connections to Jeffrey Epstein.
The Diana factor
Harry’s late mother, Diana, also could be a reason the couple are moving. The 30th anniversary of her death is next August. Her brother, Charles Spencer (he of the scorched-earth Westminster Abbey eulogy), is writing a book “to tell the truth about Diana from her brother’s perspective.” That would be one of the few Diana perspectives not yet penned. If Harry is working on any Diana-related projects for Netflix — as was reportedly on the streaming giant’s wishlist when it renegotiated the Sussexes’ deal last year — being in England would probably help.
Such a project would likely anger the palace; the cost of returning to the family fold might be summed up in one British headline Thursday: “Harry will hold his tongue to regain King’s trust.” In addition to theories about no more media interviews or public criticism, tax breaks the Sussexes appear to now qualify for, and whether they might eventually resume public duties (most of the British “working royals” are retirement age), some royal watchers are already speculating that William is the “big loser” in Harry’s return. Reports will no doubt continue about the potential challenge to William’s future kingship.
Constant coverage of the royals as a family “firm” makes it easy to forget that the Windsors and Sussexes are real people who live their lives in a media fishbowl. Harry was born a prince and has grown up with both rare privilege and extreme public loss. This week he might simply be a 41-year-old man trying to reconnect with his father and share his beloved country with his children. The question isn’t just whether he knows how deeply he offended a public that used to adore him. It’s also whether after burning so many bridges, he can go home again.
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