Prince Harry and Meghan Markle prepare their return to the United Kingdom six years after stepping down from their roles as active members of the British royal family and settling in the United States. Their return, which will include their children Archie and Lilibet, brings back into focus the prince’s relationship with his father, King Charles III, the rift with his brother William, their security, and their long battle against the British tabloid press.
Harry, currently 41 years old, and Meghan, 45, gave up their royal duties and moved in March 2020 to California, where they embarked on a new professional phase marked by lucrative contracts with Netflix and Spotify.
The couple’s first child, Archie, was born in 2019 in London; while their daughter Lilibet was born in the United States in 2021.
The origin of the dispute between Harry and his father lies in the deterioration of the family relationship that accompanied the prince and Meghan’s resignation from their royal duties in 2020.
The couple stated they felt little support from the institution in the face of press pressure and the difficulties Meghan faced, and decided to settle in the United States to seek financial independence.
In 2023, Harry published his autobiography titled “Spare”, where he narrated his childhood and the deep emotional impact marked by the death of his mother, Princess Diana. He also recounted the disagreements between him and his wife with the royal family, mentioned the arguments and fights with his older brother William, and spoke about his aversion to the British tabloid press.
Three years after that public exposure of their differences with the royal family, the Dukes of Sussex are preparing to start a new chapter in the United Kingdom, although everything indicates their return will be temporary.
According to the Sunday newspaper The Sunday Times, the dukes would stay around a year in the United Kingdom.
Here are the key points of the return:
1. Archie and Lilibet: the education that brings Harry and Meghan closer to the United Kingdom
For international relations expert Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Mackay, beyond the reasons Harry and Meghan give for their return, there is a deeper factor related to the education and future of Archie and Lilibet.
He believes the decision mainly responds to a determination by the parents for their children to grow up close to their family roots and within British tradition.
“The British in general greatly cherish the mystique and idiosyncrasy that can only be cultivated within Great Britain”, he told El Comercio.
Rodríguez Mackay especially highlights the possibility that the children grow up near the Spencers, Harry’s maternal lineage and the relatives of his late mother, Princess Diana.
Archie and Lilibet are already enrolled and are expected to start school in the United Kingdom in September. The older will enter third grade and his sister first grade.
The Dukes of Sussex keep the name of the school strictly confidential to protect the privacy of the minors.
According to sources close to the couple detailed in reports by media such as Sky News, Harry felt that his children are missing out on growing up alongside their family network (cousins and uncles). Also, he wants for them the same foundation of strong friendships and elite British education that he had in his childhood.
The family plans to live in a private residence on the outskirts of London. The location of the residence is also kept secret for security reasons.
According to a survey by YouGov for The Sunday Times, 51% of Britons oppose the Dukes of Sussex returning to their roles as full-time active members of the royal family, and only 23% would support this move. Additionally, 34% consider the couple’s return harmful to the monarchy, and only 14% believe their return will be beneficial to the institution.
2. Reconciliation with Charles III and William?
Harry recently expressed his interest in reconciliation with his father, King Charles III, to be able to spend more time with him. Currently, the monarch is undergoing treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer.
The news of their return comes a month after the prince traveled to London to reunite with his father.
Rodríguez Mackay believes that a reconciliation process is indeed underway with Charles III, although he does not see the same possibilities regarding Prince William.
The analyst considers especially relevant the meeting Harry and Meghan recently had with Charles III. He thinks that visit may have helped define the return to the United Kingdom.
Rodríguez Mackay rules out that behind the decision there is an attempt to recover Harry and Meghan’s former royal duties. Rather, he interprets the rapprochement as part of a family reconciliation, especially considering that Harry’s children could grow up closer to their grandfather, the king.
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He even suggests, although he presents it as speculation, that Charles III may have encouraged the couple’s return.
According to his interpretation, living on the outskirts of London would allow the Sussexes to maintain an independent life, but at the same time facilitate regular visits to the monarch.
3. Who will protect Harry and Meghan?
When Harry and Meghan stepped down from their roles as active members of the royal family, they lost the police protection they had as working members of the monarchy.
Since then, Harry has received protection called ‘bespoke’, meaning designed specifically for each circumstance and granted on a case-by-case basis.
In 2025 Harry unsuccessfully tried to have the courts order the United Kingdom to pay for his and his family’s security when on British soil.
During his legal dispute with the British government, the prince raised the possibility of personally paying for police protection when in the UK, but authorities rejected it because police protection does not operate as a private service that a person can simply hire and pay for.
There is no indication that Buckingham Palace will directly assume that cost.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham recently said that the issue of their security is a private matter.
One alternative for Harry is to pay for his own private security.
4. Harry and the British press: a war far from over
Harry returns to a country where he maintains an open war with much of the press: he won important battles against some tabloids but just suffered his biggest legal setback by losing his lawsuit against the Daily Mail publisher.
The prince has denounced that certain tabloids used illegal methods to obtain information about him and his circle.
Harry sued the publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and People for illegal interception of communications and other illicit information-gathering practices. In December 2023, the London High Court ruled that he had been a victim of illegal activity in some of the articles analyzed and awarded him £140,600 in damages.
Harry also sued News Group Newspapers, owned by Rupert Murdoch, for alleged illegal practices by its newspapers The Sun and News of the World.
In January 2025, Harry reached a settlement with News Group Newspapers, which included an apology and payment of about £10 million, although a significant part corresponded to his legal costs.
Harry, along with Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley, and other personalities, sued Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.
On July 7, 2026, Harry and the other plaintiffs lost the case.
Judge Matthew Nicklin rejected the accusations against Associated Newspapers, considering that there was insufficient evidence to prove the alleged illegal practices.
And on August 21, a judge ordered Harry and the other plaintiffs to make a provisional payment of £9.54 million — about US$13 million — to cover Associated Newspapers’ legal costs.
Rodríguez Mackay warns that Harry’s confrontation with the British press is unlikely to disappear, especially after the prince’s recent legal setback.
“From a political realism standpoint, […] their return would also be, let’s say, promoted by the financial situation the couple might have, especially due to this legal setback that will cost them several million,” he says.
The analyst believes Harry could face a period of financial adjustment after the legal process, while Meghan might have the opportunity to receive new job offers. He thinks both factors could contribute to the couple finding a new source of income in the United Kingdom and a way to ease the economic impact of the legal defeat.
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