Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to relocate to private UK residence six years after departure

Relocation to a private residence

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle plan to leave California and relocate to the United Kingdom before the end of August. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, aged 41 and 45, intend to settle in a private residential property outside London rather than in any of the royal palaces. Their two children, Prince Archie, aged 7, and Princess Lilibet, aged 5, have already been enrolled in a British school to begin the academic term in September. The family had lived in Montecito since 2020 after stepping back from royal life, and they intend to keep both their California house and a holiday residence in Portugal. Buckingham Palace officials declined to comment on the move, and spokespersons for the couple did not respond to inquiries.

Unchanged royal status and security background

The move concludes a six-year self-imposed exile in North America following the couple's decision to step back from front-line royal duties in January 2020. Queen Elizabeth II convened a family meeting at Sandringham to resolve the crisis, ultimately ruling that a part-time royal role was unworkable. In 2021, the late Queen stripped Harry of his honorary military titles and royal patronages. The Sussexes will continue as non-working royals without an official public calendar, royal funding, or state representation upon returning to Britain. Security remains a persistent subject after Harry lost a court challenge against the Home Office regarding his downgraded official protection level. Harry previously stated in 2025 that security concerns had prevented him from bringing his family to the country.

There is no point in continuing to fight. Life is too precious.

Father-son reconciliation and monarch notification

King Charles III, aged 77, was informed of the relocation on Sunday, 16 August 2026. The monarch welcomed the prospect of seeing his grandchildren more regularly on a private basis, though their non-working royal status will remain unchanged. The decision followed a confidential family meeting in July at the King's Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire, where Charles and Queen Camilla met Archie and Lilibet in person for the first time since Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee in 2022. Harry had made earlier solo trips to London, including a brief visit in February 2024 following his father's cancer diagnosis and a meeting over tea at Clarence House in September 2025. In a May 2025 BBC interview, Harry had expressed a strong wish for reconciliation and sadness that his children had spent most of their lives away from British relatives.

Sibling estrangement and domestic reception

Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, were informed of the move on 16 August, almost simultaneously with the King. The brothers remain estranged and do not speak following years of tension deepened by the 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview and the publication of Harry's memoir Spare. British newspapers reported that the Prince of Wales reacted with anger to the news of the return, while Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace have maintained official silence. The exact location of the family's new home remains undisclosed for privacy reasons, though reports indicate it is situated outside London and detached from Crown property. The children are scheduled to begin classes at their new school at the start of September.