Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Have Reportedly Been Privately Discussing a U.K. Return for “Years,” but Had to Wait for This to Happen

Rachel BurchfieldSun, August 23, 2026 at 4:45 PM UTC

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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in Melbourne, Australia on April 16, 2026.Credit: GettyThe Gist -

Just in case you haven’t heard, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet are moving back to the U.K. by the end of August.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had apparently been discussing such a move “for a couple of years,” but only finalized their decision recently.

The couple, like anyone else, had to wait to see if Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, were accepted into a U.K. school, as “There was no special treatment,” The Times reported.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may be famous, but when it comes to their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet being accepted into a U.K. school, it seems they had to wait just like anybody else.

According to a new wide-ranging report from The Times, Harry and Meghan “had been privately discussing returning to the U.K. for a couple of years,” but the final decision “was only made just before they told the king a week ago,” the outlet reported. Three days before news broke that the Sussex family planned to move back to the U.K. on August 19, Harry and Meghan informed King Charles of the decision on August 16, reports indicate.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Germany on September 6, 2022.Credit: Getty

The reason for the last minute move? According to a source close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, it came down to one of the “great equalizers of our nation”—getting accepted into a certain school.

“They had to wait to be told whether or not their children had got in—just like many other people waiting in mid-August,” a source told The Times. “They weren’t able to confirm their plans until very late in the day, because the school—rightly—works to their own timetable. There was no special treatment.”

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on September 16, 2023.Credit: Getty

The name of the school, as well as the private, non-royal residence where the Sussexes will live outside of London, is being kept under wraps. That said, Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, will become “day pupils” at a school come September—meaning that, unlike their cousin Prince George, they will not be boarding. George, 13, will begin school at Eton College, the alma mater of both his uncle Harry and his father Prince William, in September, where he will board. His siblings Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, 8, are day pupils at Lambrook School.

Harry, The Times reported, is “keen” on Archie taking up rugby and cricket, and Harry himself “wants to watch more rugby matches upon his return,” the publication reported. The outlet noted that, in the U.K. and beyond, Harry and Meghan’s decision to leave Montecito, California—where they’ve lived since they stepped back as working royals—and return to the United Kingdom “has caused almost as much shock as their decision to depart in 2020.”

Discussions of the impending move “were kept to a very tight circle,” but in recent months Harry has apparently “been talking about it so much that it became something of a joke among them,” according to The Times.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Sydney, Australia on April 17, 2026.Credit: Getty

“I thought I’d believe it when I see it,” a source said. “But actually, the stars aligned—it’s perfect timing in terms of the children’s schooling there appeared to be a good acting opportunity here [for Meghan], and also the draw of family—not just being closer to the king, but the Spencers [Princess Diana’s family], with whom Harry is very close.”

The insider added that Harry and his brother William “are not speaking, but there are other members of the royal family he remains close to.” The Times reported that “there is no sign of any thaw in the relationship” between William and Harry at present, and the brothers haven’t spoken since Queen Elizabeth’s funeral four years ago in 2022.

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“William’s relationship with Harry is in cold storage and is not coming out anytime soon,” a royal source told The Times. Speaking on Times Radio recently, Diana’s biographer Andrew Morton said that William was “deeply, deeply hurt” by Harry and “felt utterly abandoned” by him.

“I think it’s going to take a long, long time for him to recover from that,” Morton said of the Prince of Wales.

Though the king was formally told one week ago about Harry and Meghan’s plans, Hello!’s royal editor Emily Nash said on a recent episode of the outlet’s “A Right Royal Podcast” that she doubted that last Sunday was the first time Charles had heard about the possibility.

“Well, I think that it’s probably not the first he’s heard of it, to be honest,” Nash said. “I think that it would be extraordinary if they hadn’t mentioned to him the fact that they were considering this. But I think they then presented it to him as a kind of done deal just on Sunday.”

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in New York City on October 10, 2023.Credit: Getty

“So as much as he may have been having conversations with his dad about this, they actually have pushed the button quite late and not a moment too soon, you know, because those children will be starting school in just two or three weeks from now.”

The Times reported that Charles was the first person informed of the move. Harry and Meghan reportedly began researching both schools and properties in May, but a source told the outlet that it was only after the Sussex family visited Charles at his country home, Highgrove, in July that they began making more serious plans.

Insiders close to the Sussexes emphasized to the publication that they didn’t expect Harry and Meghan’s return to the U.K. to be “forever.”

“It’ll be an extended period of time—it could be six months, it could be a year, it could be more—I don’t think even they know yet,” a source said. (Harry and Meghan are keeping their Montecito mansion, as well as a vacation home in Portugal, in their real estate portfolio.) “They might suddenly go, ‘Why don’t we try Canada for a while? Why don’t we try Australia?’”

Ultimately, a longstanding friend of Harry’s said that the duke still has deep affection for his home country, telling The Times, “Harry has often spoken about how much he loves it here, and he wants his family to love it as much as him.”

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