London: Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have decided to move back to the UK with their two children later this month but will remain non-working members of the royal family, according to UK media reports.
Harry, the younger son of King Charles III, relocated with his family to the US six years ago after stepping back from frontline royal duties.
The 41-year-old and his former Hollywood actress wife are expected to reside in a non-royal residence outside London, media reports said late on Wednesday. The couple are said to have enrolled their children, seven-year-old Prince Archie and five-year-old Princess Lilibet, in a British school from the start of the new term in September.
Buckingham Palace said it does not comment on developments related to non-working members of the royal family. However, it is understood that the King was made aware of the move, first reported in ‘The Daily Telegraph’ and ‘The Sun’, on Sunday.
The matter had not been discussed when Harry and Meghan, 45, were hosted at Charles’ Highgrove home in Gloucestershire for a “private family occasion” last month, when the King met his two grandchildren after a long hiatus.
While it is expected that the King naturally welcomes the opportunity to see more of his younger son and his family in a private and personal capacity, there will be no alteration to their role and status as private individuals. This is seen as in keeping with the couple’s clearly expressed wishes and agreement since 2020, as there remains no “half in and half out” option in terms of official royal duties.
There have been no official statements from either the palace or the Duke and Duchess Sussex’s representatives. Harry has previously expressed serious concerns for the security of his family, with him even resorting to legal avenues to ensure high-level armed protection despite being a non-working royal.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said their security would be a “private matter”.
“It’s a matter for Harry and Meghan, and we wish them well in the move that they’re making,” he said, responding to a question about whether the government would foot the bill for the family’s protection when they return to the UK.
The UK Home Office insisted the government’s protective security system is “rigorous and proportionate”.
“It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security,” a spokesperson said.
After losing a court battle over the security issue last year, Prince Harry had said he hoped to rebuild relations with his family.
“I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore… I don’t know how much longer my father has,” he told the BBC, referencing the King’s ongoing cancer treatment.
The Sussexes, as the couple is known, have had a tumultuous relationship with the royal family since relocating to a mansion in the exclusive southern California enclave of Montecito in 2020. Harry, who remains fifth in the line of succession to the British throne, has had a particularly stormy relationship with his older brother and future king William.
In his explosive memoir ‘Spare’, he said he left Britain to escape the restrictions of royal life and criticised palace officials for being insensitive to his wife’s mental health. There had also been allegations that at least one member of the royal family had expressed racist views when Meghan, who is bi-racial, was pregnant with their first child.
The palace had described the claims as “concerning” and famously issued a statement to say that “recollections may vary” and will be dealt with privately.
