Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Make Shocking Move Back to the U.K. with Kids Archie and Lilibet (Exclusive)
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Make Shocking Move Back to the U.K. with Kids Archie and Lilibet (Exclusive)
Simon PerryWed, August 19, 2026 at 9:00 PM UTC
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on August 7, 2026 at a charity gala in Victoria, British Columbia.Credit: Vito Amati/The David Foster Foundation via Getty -
PEOPLE can exclusively reveal that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are moving to Britain with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet
The Sussexes will establish a private, non-royal home base in Britain while retaining their homes in California and Portugal
While Harry will not return to official royal duties, the move signals a major new chapter for the family after six years in California
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are moving back to Britain in the biggest shift to their family life since stepping away from royal duties in 2020, PEOPLE can exclusively reveal.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are relocating with Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, to the U.K. for an extended period beginning this month, PEOPLE understands, with the children set to begin school there in September.
The couple will maintain their home in Montecito, California, and their vacation property in Portugal while establishing a private, non-royal home base in Britain. The location of the family’s new home and the children’s school are being closely guarded.
The move gives Harry, 41, and Meghan, 45, their first home base in Britain since they relinquished the lease on Frogmore Cottage, the Windsor residence gifted to them by the late Queen Elizabeth in 2023. King Charles, 77, asked them to vacate the property following the publication of Harry’s raw 2023 memoir, Spare.
King Charles was made aware of the couple’s plans on Sunday, August 16, PEOPLE understands, and welcomes the opportunity to see more of the Sussex family in a private and personal capacity.
The move comes just weeks after Harry and Meghan returned to the U.K. with Archie and Lilibet for a successful summer visit that included the children’s first reunion with their grandfather in more than four years.
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Princess Lilibet and Prince Harry at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor in 2022; King Charles in 2025Credit: Netflix/YouTube; Chris Jackson/Getty
Charles is said to have been clear there will be no change to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s status as private individuals and non-working members of the royal family, in keeping with the wishes they expressed and the agreement reached when they stepped back from royal duties.
Those close to the Sussexes believe they have successfully executed the “half in, half out” model Harry and Meghan proposed to the royal family in 2019. With a base in Britain, Harry will be able to spend more time with charities including Scotty’s Little Soldiers and WellChild, as well as the Invictus community, while Meghan continues leading her lifestyle company, As Ever, and pursuing future projects.
Allies say the couple have built the independent life they envisioned — championing the causes most important to them while supporting themselves financially, paying their own bills and mortgage, and relying on no taxpayer funding.
The move is also the clearest sign yet that Harry believes his family’s long-running security concerns have reached a point where he feels comfortable basing Meghan and their children in Britain once again. A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex declined to comment on the matter of security.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Trooping the Colour in London in 2018Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty
While the family’s longer-term residential plans remain unclear, PEOPLE understands Meghan will continue leading As Ever from the couple’s international bases, while Harry will be able to spend significantly more time supporting U.K.-based charities and patronages.
Even before plans for the family’s return emerged, Harry was expected in Britain in September for engagements tied to WellChild — the children’s charity he has supported for more than two decades — as well as events connected to the Invictus Games. Among the marquee events is the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards and gala, though those close to the Sussexes are not confirming whether Harry and Meghan plan to attend.
Prince Harry, Princess Lilibet and Prince Archie in June 2026Credit: Meghan/Instagram
Security has long been an obstacle for the couple. After he and Meghan stepped back from royal duties, the pair lost their taxpayer-funded police protection, prompting Harry to wage a years-long legal battle over the decision.
He has continued pressing the issue, arguing that the government’s Royal and VIP Executive Committee (RAVEC) should conduct a fresh risk assessment — something he says has not happened in more than six years. Against that backdrop, the family’s decision to establish a U.K. base marks a significant turning point.
The Sussexes left Britain in 2020 amid an increasingly and publicly strained relationship with the royal family — particularly Harry’s brother, Prince William, 44. Tensions deepened following the couple’s stunning interview with Oprah Winfrey, their Harry & Meghan Netflix docuseries and, finally, Harry’s memoir, Spare.
While the couple appeared to have an idyllic life in Montecito, they have made no secret of their disillusionment with the current White House. With the midterm elections fast approaching, concerns about the direction of the U.S. loom large for many.
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There has been public tension between the Sussexes and Trump in the past. When President Donald Trump said in January 2026 that NATO allies “stayed a little back” from the frontlines during the war in Afghanistan, Harry — a combat vet from the Afghanistan War — issued a blunt statement: “I served there. I made lifelong friends there. And I lost friends there.” (For his part, Trump said of Meghan in May, “Boy, what she’s done to that guy [Harry],” in remarks to royal biographer Robert Hardman.)
Those close to Harry believe his recent visit to Britain reflects his conviction that the more the public interacts with Meghan, the more they appreciate her. During his visit to Birmingham, where he carried out charity engagements and promoted the Invictus Games, Harry was heartened by the public interest in his wife.
Looking back, Harry may have hinted at the family’s plans more than a year ago. At the WellChild Awards in September 2025, singer Joss Stone — who had recently moved her family back to Britain after spending years living in Nashville, Tennessee — recalled that Harry was especially interested in her decision.
“He asked about how we were settling back in and was genuinely interested in our move home. He’s just very warm and down to earth, as always. Maybe Harry will move back too. That would be nice,” Stone told Hello!.
Stone said Harry was particularly curious about what the move meant for her children.
“He was saying how wonderful the schools are here and how important community is for children,” she recalled. “It was nice to share that with him because it’s exactly why we felt drawn to come back — for the kids to grow up surrounded by family, friends and a strong sense of belonging and, most importantly, in a safe environment.”
Prince Harry, Prince William, King Charles, Meghan Markle, Kate Middleton and Queen Camilla on March 9, 2020Credit: Phil Harris / POOL / AFP/ Getty
While Harry has been gradually repairing his relationship with King Charles, the same cannot be said of his bond with William. Despite recent speculation that tensions between the brothers may have eased, PEOPLE understands the relationship remains as it has for years — distant, with “no contact.”
“I thought it would have perhaps eased a little bit by now, to be honest. But there has been no movement, especially on William’s side,” a close source told PEOPLE in July.
Still, Harry told the BBC in 2025 that he hoped to heal the rift: “I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore.”
As for a U.K. support network, Harry has a large group of longtime friends there, while Meghan has her own circle, including college friend Lindsay Jill Roth, who divides her time between London and Chicago with her husband and their two young sons. The Sussexes also remain close to Harry’s cousin Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank, who split their time between Britain and Portugal — where both families now have homes and where Eugenie welcomed the couple’s third child, a daughter, earlier this summer.
Harry has long been determined to reach a point where he, Meghan and their children could come and go from Britain without the recurring questions over where they would stay. Insiders have described the speculation surrounding his accommodations and security as a “circus.” With the family now securing their own private U.K. residence, that uncertainty appears to have been removed.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in Portugal in July 2026Credit: Meghan Markle/Instagram
The family’s last visit to the U.K. began against a backdrop of questions over whether he believed it was safe enough for Meghan and their children to join him.
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But after several days of charity engagements, Meghan and the children flew in from Portugal for the family’s secret reunion with King Charles at Highgrove House — the children’s first meeting with their grandfather in more than four years.
Prince Harry with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet at Althorp in July 2026Credit: Meghan Markle/Instagram
The family then traveled to Althorp House, where Princess Diana spent much of her childhood and is buried, and where Harry’s uncle Charles Spencer and his wife, Cat Jarman, now live. There, Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lilibet spent time with members of the wider Spencer family and are believed to have paid their respects at Diana’s gravesite on the island in the Oval Lake.
The Sussexes also spent several days traveling around Britain before Meghan shared a series of idyllic vacation photos featuring lakeside scenery, beaches and swimming pools — images that, in hindsight, offered an early glimpse of the family’s next chapter.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
