Why Prince Harry & Meghan Markle Were Ready for Move Back to U.K.

Meghan Markle, Prince Harry's Kids Change U.K. Schools After 2 Days Over Security Concerns

Not all that long ago, Prince Harry didn't think it would be safe to live in the United Kingdom with Meghan Markle and their children.

“I can’t see a world where I would be bringing my wife and kids back to the U.K. at this point,” he the BBC in May 2025, hours after a court upheld the government's prior refusal to pay for the Sussex family's security when they were in town. “And the things that they’re going to miss is, well, everything. I love my country. I always have, despite what some people in that country have done.”

And though Harry has taken up surfing and otherwise made himself at home in Southern California, where his family resides in a 14,500-square-foot Montecito mansion, he missed his birthplace, too, calling it "quite sad" he wouldn't be able to show it to son Archie, 7, and daughter Lilibet, 5.

Harry further shared at the time that his father, King Charles III, wouldn't speak to him amid the whole security kerfuffle, the monarch preferring to stay out of his younger son's very public dispute.

But, Harry added, "the goal in life is always reconciliation.”

Since then, he has at least reconciled his reservations about living in the U.K.

Though their cousin Prince George's first day at Eton was headline news, neither school was identified. Nor have Harry and Meghan—who shared some cozy bucolic scenes from their U.K. life in a Sept. 13 video—disclosed where they've settled.

But wherever they are, the rules of their old life in the U.K. don't apply, as indicated by Meghan's breezy Instagram post in honor of Harry's 42nd birthday on Sept. 15. 

A tribute reading "He’s simply the best. Happy birthday, my love" is hardly risqué, but it's NSFW by senior royal standards. 

But theories have abounded as to why Harry was ready to make the move now after sounding so averse to it, and being closer to his 77-year-old father is atop the list of possible reasons for his return.

The king seems as busy as ever amid ongoing cancer treatment—which he said last December would "move into a precautionary phase," crediting "early diagnosis, effective intervention and adherence to doctors’ orders" for the improvement in his condition—but Harry did tell the BBC last year, "I do not know how much longer my father has."

And, he shared, "I would love reconciliation with my family. There's no point continuing to fight any more, life is precious."

But with Meghan able to oversee her As Ever lifestyle brand from anywhere and Netflix opting to shelve With Love, Meghan rather than bring it back for a third season (leaving the table set for one-off specials), the Suits alum is free to pursue new creative ventures in the U.K.

Plus, when it comes to making major decisions, "You never move one without the other," as Mehgan put it to The Cut in 2022. "That's me and Harry. We're like salt and pepper. We always move together."

So, the couple may be aiming to enjoy the best of both worlds, a level of built-in fame and opportunity but with the lack of expectations and scrutiny that comes with being senior royals.

And they've still got their home in Montecito if that doesn't work out.

As they settle into their undisclosed new location, read on for the sweetest glimpses of family life Meghan and Harry have shared: