RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 19 sourcesPrince Harry and his family will leave the sunny shores of Southern California and return to the United Kingdom, a source familiar with the couple’s plans said. The Duke of Sussex, 41, and his wife, Meghan, 45, along with their two children, Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, have been living in Montecito, an affluent coastal enclave in Santa Barbara County. King Charles was informed of the move on Sunday, a source familiar with the couple’s plans told NBC News. The matter was not discussed during the Sussexes’ visit in July, The Telegraph reported. King Charles welcomes the opportunity to see more of the Sussex family in a private capacity, but maintains that they will remain private individuals and nonworking members of the royal family, the source said. The couple took refuge in the Golden State after stepping back from royal duties in 2020. The Telegraph and The Sun were the first to report the move Wednesday evening. The reports said Archie and Lilibet have been enrolled in British schools to start in September, meaning the family will likely move within the next two weeks. Harry and Meghan, however, will not return to royal duties, nor will they live in a royal residence, opting for a more private life. It remains unclear what security — a point of great contention in the past between the prince and the royals — will look like. On the question of Harry and Meghan’s security arrangements, a U.K. Home Office spokesperson said, “It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.” Meghan is expected to continue to run her lifestyle brand, As Ever, while living in the U.K. When asked for comment, a spokesperson for the Sussexes did not deny the reported plans to move back to the U.K. The move back across the pond comes on the heels of Harry’s contentious visit to the U.K. in July — where his offer to stay at Buckingham Palace was rescinded and he had to walk back initial plans to travel with his wife and children over security concerns. Prior to July, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were last together in the U.K. in 2022, for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. A royal family reunion may not be a smooth affair given Harry’s strained relationship with his father, King Charles, and elder brother, Prince William, for the past few years. Harry aired some of his grievances in his 2023 memoir “Spare” and has spoken publicly about tensions within the family. Last year, Harry met with his father, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, after he had claimed the monarch refused to speak with him. Despite the frosty relationship, Harry expressed a desire to reconcile with his family in May 2025, noting he did not “know how much longer my father has.” India McTaggart, a royal correspondent at The Telegraph, told NBC News that moving to the U.K. has been a longtime wish of Harry’s. “He’s made, you know, no secret of his intention to want to bring his children here to reunite them with the king, his father, and the Spencer side of the family, and just have a place where he can come to the U.K. without the circus of his arrival,” McTaggart said. She said that while Harry’s relationship with his brother, Prince William, remains fraught as they “haven’t spoken in years,” Harry has “started speaking to the king, his father, a lot more.” Moving back to the U.K. may also be an easier decision for the family given Harry’s charity work there. “A lot of his charities are based here, whether it’s Invictus or WellChild. And I think he feels closer to home here, obviously, because friends are here and I think it’s become so deeply complicated for him to go back and forth because of all the security concerns he had,” McTaggart said. “I just think he has sort of wanted to do this for a while, and it appears that Meghan is taking one for the team.”
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