Updated Aug. 19, 2026, 9:48 p.m. ET
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan are moving back to the United Kingdom, according to reports.
The couple and their two kids, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, are reportedly returning six years after stepping away from their senior royal roles and moving to California in 2020, according to People and The Telegraph.
The outlets report the family is relocating this month and the kids will be starting school in the U.K. in September. They will keep their homes in Montecito, California, and Portugal.
USA TODAY has reached out to the palace and Harry and Meghan’s representatives for comment.
The news comes one month after Meghan, 45, and Harry, 41, reunited their children with their grandfather King Charles and Queen Camilla after four years apart. Buckingham Palace confirmed to BBC in early July that the family came together at Highgrove house, Camilla and Charles’ private country residence in Gloucestershire, England.
This marked a significant step amid reported rifts in the relationships between the Sussexes and the extended royal family over the past six years. The king had not seen his grandchildren in four years prior to the trip, and Meghan had last visited the U.K. in September 2022 for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.
Harry has also only seen his brother, Prince William, a handful of times in recent years and had last visited his father, King Charles, in September.
Prince Harry, Duchess Meghan lived in the UK for nearly two years before leaving
Harry and Meghan got married in May 2018 at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle and lived in the U.K. for nearly two years while participating in royal duties.
One year later, they welcomed their first child, son Archie, who is sixth in line to the throne. Born to an American mother, Archie became the first British royal baby of African American descent.
In 2020, Harry and Meghan officially stepped back from their senior duties and moved to Montecito, California, amid a reported bitter family dispute. At the time, the pair said they intended to “work to become financially independent.”
Their daughter Lilibet “Lili” Diana was born in 2021 in the United States. She is named after two of Britain’s most famous royals: Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, who died in a car crash in 1997, and his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, who died in 2022.
What led to the royal family’s rift?
One year after Harry and Meghan married, speculation about tensions began to swirl when they split from The Royal Foundation, a charity they ran with William and Princess Kate. During an October 2019 interview, Harry told Britain’s ITV News, “Very quickly it became Meghan vs. Kate,” before acknowledging that he and William had drifted apart.
When Harry and Meghan announced their unprecedented decision to step back from royal duties and split their time between the U.K. and North America in 2020, the move was dubbed “Megxit,” a play on Brexit, Britain’s polarizing exit from the European Union.
In March 2021, Harry and Meghan participated in a 90-minute bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, during which they alleged racism within the royal family and indifference to Meghan’s requests for help when she was experiencing suicidal thoughts.
While Meghan, who is biracial, was pregnant, the couple said a member of the royal family expressed “concerns” about how dark their son’s skin might be. Meghan also said Kate “made me cry” in the lead-up to her wedding, despite reports that it was the other way around.
Harry further said he was let down by how his father handled his and Meghan’s royal exit and revealed he was cut off from the family’s finances in the first quarter of 2020, leaving him with his inheritance from his late mother to fund the move.
In 2023, Harry opened up more in his tell-all autobiography, “Spare,” where he said he and William had a rift brewing since their school days. Later that year, Harry attended King Charles’ coronation without his wife and children and sat two rows behind his brother.
Harry’s return to Britain for the recent trip also highlighted continuing troubles when his team announced Meghan would not be joining the duke for the London portion of his trip due to security issues. When Harry left his role as a working royal, he and his immediate family were no longer entitled to taxpayer-funded security.
This story is developing.
Contributing: Jennifer Hassan, USA TODAY
Leave a Reply