Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Announce Return to United Kingdom

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their surprise return to Britain on Wednesday night, August 2026, after six years in the US.

The couple will move to an undisclosed non-royal residence outside London and have enrolled Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, in British schools. Their role and status as private individuals and non-working members of the royal family will not change. King Charles was informed of the move on Sunday, three days before the public announcement.

Questions remain about who will pay for their security, with claims it could cost taxpayers up to £5 million a year. Prime Minister Andy Burnham called the funding for security a private matter. Prince Harry has faced a protracted legal battle with the Home Office over his family's security arrangements since stepping down as a working royal in 2020.

The couple lost their publicly funded security after deciding to leave Britain in 2020. Royal reporter Omid Scobie claimed the couple had been slowly and methodically planning their move, citing a reduction in their US office size and the restructuring of their Archewell Foundation. Prince William and Kate attended a "Sussex summit" with King Charles at Balmoral to discuss the return.

A source stated Prince William has no desire whatsoever to reconcile with his brother, as it stands, and the Waleses have no interest in engaging with anything Harry and Meghan do or say. William and Harry were last seen together in September 2022 at the death of Queen Elizabeth. Harry, Meghan, and their children met privately with Charles and Queen Camilla in July, the first time the children had been with their grandfather since 2022. Harry admitted revelations in his 2023 biography *Spare* and an interview with Oprah Winfrey had rocked relations.