Prince Harry, Meghan plan UK return as Archie and Lilibet join British schools

Prince Harry and Meghan are reportedly preparing to return to Britain after enrolling Archie and Lilibet in UK schools. The move revives questions over security, royal reconciliation and their place around the monarchy.

In Short

• The couple reportedly chose private housing outside London, without reviving royal duties
• Their reported move has reignited questions over taxpayer-funded security arrangements
• Harry hopes his children can know King Charles during cancer treatment

Prince Harry and Meghan plan to return to the UK from California within weeks after enrolling their children, Archie and Lilibet, in British schools for the autumn term, according to reports that emerged late on Wednesday. The move has set off fresh debate about where the couple will live, who will pay for their security and whether their return could affect the wider royal family.

British media reported that Harry and Meghan are expected to live at a private, non-royal residence outside London and will not resume the royal duties they gave up when they moved to Montecito in Southern California six years ago. But the bigger question is whether Harry can repair ties with Prince William after years of public fallout, and whether the couple's presence in Britain could overshadow William and Catherine.

Stories in the Telegraph and the Sun said the decision came as a surprise. Craig Prescott, an expert on the UK constitution and the monarchy at Royal Holloway University of London, said the palace would have to manage the situation carefully. "That will be something for the palace to deal with They wouldn't want Meghan and Harry's presence in the UK here to overshadow the work of the monarchy, and there will have to be some discussion and allowance for that," he told The Associated Press.

The return comes while King Charles III, Harry's father, continues treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer discovered in 2024. Last year, Harry said he did not know "how much time my father has left" and has spoken of wanting his children to have a chance to know their grandfather.

Royal historian Ed Owens said recent events may have opened the way for the couple's return. He pointed to Harry's stated wish for reconciliation, the apparently successful meeting last month between Charles, Harry, Meghan and their children at the king's Highgrove estate in western England, Harry's wish for his children to grow up British, and the view that the UK now appears safer than the US amid divisions in American society.

Owens said he expected Charles to forgive Harry because, as supreme governor of the Church of England, he must reflect Christian teachings, including forgiveness. He said William may find it harder to forgive his brother, though he too will one day become head of the church. "It may be that privately William never fully forgives his younger brother for what he deems the betrayal of the family," Owens told AP. "But publicly," he will, "because for traditional moralists, traditional Christian values, they demand that there is this public act of forgiveness, that there's reconciliation between the brothers." Charles was informed of Harry and Meghan's plans on Sunday, and the matter was not discussed during their recent visit to the UK.

Relations between Harry and Meghan and the rest of the royal family have remained strained since they stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and moved to California to earn their own living. They later signed major deals with Netflix and Spotify.

The split deepened after a series of interviews and Harry's memoir, Spare, in which he said they left Britain to escape the restrictions of royal life. The couple also accused palace officials of failing to respond properly to Meghan's mental health struggles and said at least one royal had made racist remarks when she was pregnant with their first child. In a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, when asked to sum up why he had left Britain, Harry replied: "Lack of support and lack of understanding."

Tensions were also sharpened by Harry's long legal battles with British newspapers. He has alleged that tabloids illegally hacked his phones and invaded his privacy when he was younger. That courtroom fight appeared close to ending after Harry and other claimants lost their case against the publisher of the Daily Mail last month, leaving them potentially liable for legal costs. Associated Newspapers has filed documents saying its costs totalled 34.5 million pounds.

Harry has also been in a dispute with the British government after a committee refused to authorise police protection for him and his family during visits to the UK. He argues that they need armed police protection because they remain at risk as members of the royal family, whether or not they are working royals. Asked about the issue on Thursday, Andy Burnham said the couple's security arrangements were a "private matter" for Harry and Meghan to deal with.

After losing his court challenge over the security decision in May 2025, Harry said he still hoped to reconcile with his family even as he criticised people in Britain whom he believes mistreated him and Meghan. "I can't see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point," he told the BBC then. "And the things that they're going to miss are, well, everything. You know, I love my country. I always have done, despite what some people in that country have done."

Owens said attention may now move from years of blame and grievance to whether the family can rebuild ties. "I think time is a great healer. It creates space in a social media-saturated world," he said. "People are always looking for the next thing to talk about and, arguably, that will be reconciliation between first of all father and son, and then potentially the two brothers." As Harry and Meghan prepare to return, the focus is likely to stay on whether the move brings a quieter family reset or revives old disputes over trust, security and public roles.

With PTI Inputs

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