Prince Harry and Meghan are returning to the U.K. with their children

Prince Harry and Meghan are returning to the U.K.

Key points

• Prince Harry, and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, arrive for an event, during a visit to Bondi Beach, Australia, April 17, 2026.
• Associated Newspapers has filed documents showing that its legal costs amounted to 34.5 million pounds ($47 million).
• Harry and Meghan have had a stormy relationship with the royal family ever since they decamped to a mansion in the exclusive Southern California enclave of Montecito.
• "In the short term, Harry will be able to deepen his rapprochement with his father, " Hunt informed Britain's Press Association.
• Prince Harry settles with Murdoch's British tabloids as trial is regarding to commence.

Prince Harry and Meghan are returning to the U.K. Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, have decided to return to the United Kingdom for an extended stay starting this fall, but they won't resume their roles as working members of the royal family.

Prince Harry and Meghan are returning to the U.K. With their children.

Prince Harry, and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, arrive for an event, during a visit to Bondi Beach, Australia, April 17, 2026. Jonathan Brady/Pool PA via AP hide caption. Jonathan Brady/Pool PA via AP.

LONDON – Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, have decided to return to the United Kingdom for an extended stay starting this fall, but they won't resume their roles as working members of the royal family, The Associated Press learned Wednesday.

In practice, the couple's children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, have already enrolled at British schools and will start classes in September, according to a person close to the Sussexes who was not authorized to speak publicly. The family intends to live at a private, non-royal residence outside of London, but aims to maintain their home in Montecito, California, and their vacation property in Portugal.

Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph first documented the story. When asked to discuss the reports by the AP at a roundtable event with U.S. Veterans in Washington Wednesday night, Harry replied, "Nothing to say."

Harry and Meghan offered up their royal duties and moved to California more than six years ago to earn their living through lucrative contracts with Netflix and Spotify. Although relations with the rest of the royal family have soured since then, Harry has lately expressed an interest in reconciliation so he could spend more time with his father, King Charles III. This person is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer.

Charles was informed of the couple's intends on Sunday. Harry and Meghan visited the U.K. Last month.

Buckingham Palace has a policy of not commenting on speculation regarding non-working members of the royal family. A representative for Harry and Meghan declined to comment.

While Harry can spend more time working with his U.K.-based charities, according to a source close to the Sussexes, Meghan will continue heading her As Ever firm from the U.K.

In a series of interviews and Harry's memoir "Spare, " the couple remarked they left Britain to escape the restrictions of royal life and criticized palace office-holders for being insensitive to Meghan's mental health while alleging that at least one member of the royal family had expressed racist views when she was pregnant with their first child. Meghan describes herself as biracial.

Those tensions were exacerbated by Harry's long-running legal battle with Britain's tabloid newspapers. It he alleges illegally hacked his phones and invaded his privacy when he was younger. The prince has lost a series of lawsuits against the media, including one against the publisher of the Daily Mail. It concluded last month.

Notably, the latest trial has left Harry facing a potential bill for millions of pounds after the court ruled he and other plaintiffs in the case were liable for the publisher's legal fees. Associated Newspapers has filed documents showing that its legal costs amounted to 34.5 million pounds ($47 million).

Harry has additionally been embroiled in a legal wrangle with the British administration after a administration committee refused to authorize police protection for the prince and his family when they are in the U.K. The prince notes he and his family need armed police protection as they are at risk simply since they are members of the royal family, regardless of whether they are working royals.

After losing a court battle over the security matter last year, Harry stated he hoped to rebuild relations with his family.

"I would love reconciliation with my family. There's no point in continuing to fight anymore, " Harry informed the BBC. "I don't know how much longer my father has."

Last month, Harry returned to the U.K. For a series of charity engagements. Meghan and the children joined Harry for part of the visit and they spent time with the king at his Highgrove estate in western England. It was the first time Archie and Lilibet had seen their grandfather since the late Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee in 2022.

While Harry has lately met with his father, there are no signs of a warming of relations with his brother, Prince William, the heir to the throne.

Peter Hunt, a former BBC royal correspondent, remarked the surprise announcement would produce William "apoplectic."

"In the short term, Harry will be able to deepen his rapprochement with his father, " Hunt informed Britain's Press Association. "And his presence back home will make it harder for his brother to duck a reconciliation."

For now, prince Harry and Meghan are returning to the U.K. With their children remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.