Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sparked a wave of reaction online Wednesday night after it was revealed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are returning to the UK.
Harry and Meghan are set to move imminently with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, according to The Telegraph and People magazine, who were the first to report the news.
Here’s what we know so far:
When did Harry and Meghan leave the UK?
The Sussexes announced they were stepping back from the royal family on January 8, 2020, in a shocking post on their now-defunct Instagram account, Sussex Royal.
At the time, the two said they were “working to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen,” while also splitting their time between the UK and North America.
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What is the timeline for Harry and Meghan’s move?
The family of four are settling across the pond quickly, as Archie, 7, and Lili, 5, will start school in the UK in September.
Where are Harry and Meghan moving?
Sources close to the royal couple are keeping the royal’s whereabouts private, as they have repeatedly faced concerns about their safety over the years, though it’s thought that the family will settle outside of London.
One thing is clear, and that is that the couple are not moving into a royal residence. Harry and Meghan were asked to vacate their UK home, Frogmore Cottage, in 2023 following the publication of Harry’s memoir called Spare.
The couple currently have residences in Montecito, California, and a vacation home in Portugal.
What are the reasons for their return?
Harry and Meghan haven’t yet directly addressed why they’re heading back to the UK.
One line of thinking is the move is for Harry and his family to be closer to King Charles III, 77, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2024. Harry made a remarkable disclosure to the BBC last year, in which he said, “I don’t know how much longer my father has. He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff.”
Though Harry and Charles weren’t speaking at the time, the two have since reconciled – though the status of the monarch’s health remains in question.
Charles’ health aside, Harry has also spoken fondly of his love for the UK, and wanting to show his children his home more, something he once said he hasn’t been able to do because of security concerns.
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“I can’t see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK at this point,” he told BBC last year. “The things that they’re going to miss is, well, everything. I love my country … despite what some people in that country have done … and I think that it’s really quite sad that I won’t be able to show my children my homeland.”
Harry and Meghan ended up bringing their children to the UK in July, where the family met privately with King Charles and Queen Camilla.
What do people in the UK think?
According to a YouGov poll conducted and published on Thursday, 44% of Britons say they don’t know if the couple should move back, while 33% of those surveyed think the royals should not return ― leaving 21% in favor of the move.
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