Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, arrive at an event during a visit to Bondi Beach, Australia, April 17, 2026. Jonathan Brady/Pool PA via AP hide caption toggle 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 will not resume their roles as working members of the royal family, The Associated Press learned Wednesday. The couple’s children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, have already enrolled in British schools and will begin classes in September, according to a person close to the Sussexes who was not authorized to speak publicly. The family plans to live in a private, non-royal residence outside London, but plans to maintain their home in Montecito, California, and their vacation property in Portugal. The Daily Telegraph first reported the story. Asked by the AP to discuss the reports at a roundtable with American veterans in Washington on Wednesday night, Harry responded: “Nothing to say.” Harry and Meghan quit royal duties and moved to California more than six years ago to earn a living through lucrative contracts with Netflix and Spotify. Although relations with the rest of the royal family have deteriorated since then, Harry has recently expressed interest in reconciliation so he can spend more time with his father, King Charles III, who is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer. Charles was informed of the couple’s plans on Sunday. Harry and Meghan visited the United Kingdom last month. Buckingham Palace has a policy of not commenting on speculation about non-working members of the royal family. A representative for Harry and Meghan declined to comment. According to a source close to the Sussexes, Meghan will continue to run her company As Ever from the UK, while Harry will be able to spend more time working with his UK-based charities. Harry and Meghan have had a stormy relationship with the royal family since they moved into a mansion in the exclusive enclave of Montecito, Southern California. In a series of interviews and in Harry’s memoir “Spare,” the couple said they left Britain to escape the restrictions of royal life and criticized palace officials 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 legal battle with British tabloids, which he claims illegally hacked into 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, which concluded last month. The latest trial has left Harry facing a potential bill of millions of pounds after the court ruled that he and other plaintiffs in the case were liable for the publisher’s legal fees. Associated Newspapers has filed documents showing its legal costs amounted to 34.5 million pounds ($47 million). Harry has also become embroiled in a legal dispute with the British government after a government committee refused to authorize police protection for the prince and his family when they are in the UK. The prince says he and his family need armed police protection because they are at risk simply because they are members of the royal family, regardless of whether they are working royals. After losing a court battle over the security issue last year, Harry said he hoped to rebuild relationships with his family. “I would love to reconcile with my family. There is no point in fighting anymore,” Harry told the BBC. “I don’t know how much time my father has left.” Last month, Harry returned to the UK for a series of charity engagements. Meghan and the children joined Harry for part of the visit and 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 was recently reunited with his father, there are no signs of improving relations with his brother, Prince William, the heir to the throne. Peter Hunt, a former BBC royal correspondent, said the surprise announcement would leave William “apoplectic”. “In the short term, Harry will be able to deepen his rapprochement with his father,” Hunt told Britain’s Press Association. “And your presence at home will make it more difficult for your brother to avoid a reconciliation.”
