Prince Harry never stopped missing the UK and had been thinking about returning for a while, it has been claimed.
The Duke of Sussex, as well as his wife Meghan and their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, are just days away from moving back to the UK in a shock development six years after they quit the working monarchy and moved to California.
The couple are understood to have secured a home outside of London, which is a non-royal residence, while their children are enrolled in British schools. The bombshell move comes after Harry previously railed against life in the UK – and during his previous legal fight to have his taxpayer-funded security reinstated, said it was too dangerous to bring his family to the country.
Prince Harry and Meghan with their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet (Image: @meghan/Instagram)
But now a source has claimed coming back to his homeland is “something he has been thinking about for a while”. They told PEOPLE magazine that Harry “never fully found a footing” in Montecito, missed his community of friends in the UK and struggled to establish a close circle of friends of his own there.
They said: “Harry never really stopped missing home. He’s missed that sense of connection and belonging. Britain is still home in many ways.”
However, another source stressed the Sussexes’ decision to move back to the UK was “taken as a family” adding: “Meghan feels very fortunate that they’re able to give Archie and Lilibet the opportunity to experience both worlds.”
The move will come just 14 months after Harry stated there was little chance of coming back to the UK after he lost his appeal over having his automatic police protection in the UK reinstated. At that time, in an explosive interview, he said: “I can’t see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the U.K. at this point.”
Several months earlier, during an onstage chat at the New York Times Book Summit in December 2024, he also shut down speculation about a move to Britain when he was asked if he planned to remain in America for good. He said: “I do. I very much enjoy living here and bringing my kids up here.”
However, when he returned to the UK last September for the WellChild Awards, singer Joss Stone revealed that she and Harry had chatted about UK schools. Stone, who also moved back to the UK from the US and was at the awards, said: “He asked about how we were settling back in and was genuinely interested in our move home. He was saying how wonderful the schools are here and how important community is for children.”
Harry plays with children at a charity function in the UK last month (Image: Getty Images)
But many questions still remain about the Sussexes’ UK return. It is not yet clear whether taxpayers will foot the bill for the family’s security. The Telegraph reported that a long-awaited risk assessment, carried out on the orders of the royal and VIP executive committee (Ravec), took place at the end of July, but Harry does not know the result.
The duke, a former soldier who served in Afghanistan, is said to have pleaded with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood for answers. He lost a legal battle against the Home Office over the security arrangements for him and his family while in the UK, after his level of protection changed when he stopped being a working royal in 2020.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, who have been holidaying with the King at Balmoral in Scotland, have yet to respond to news of Harry and Meghan’s plans to return.
