Harry May Have Hinted at UK Return Last Year

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to return to the UK with their two children seemed to catch everyone by surprise, but People suggests Harry might have dropped a second-hand hint about a year ago. Back in September 2025, Harry had a chat with singer Joss Stone at the WellChild Awards in London, as recounted by Hello! magazine at the time. Stone, who had just moved back to England after years in Nashville, told the outlet that Harry quizzed her on how her children were settling, and he praised British schools and community life for kids. "Maybe Harry will move back too," she said.

An insider tells People that Harry has "always had one foot" in the UK, even while establishing a life in Montecito, California, after stepping back from royal duties in 2020. The New York Times, meanwhile, speaks to royal historian Ed Owens, who suggests that Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, were the driving factors. "They want their children to grow up as British citizens as much as Americans," he says. "They want their children to imbibe the tradition, culture, history, heritage of their father's country."

But Owens also cites other factors, and the Times suggests that a major one is Harry's desire to repair relations with his father, King Charles, who is being treated for cancer. "I don't know how much longer my father has," the prince told the BBC last year. In that same interview, Harry suggested that a truce with his brother, Prince William, would be harder to achieve after Harry's decision to write a tell-all memoir. "Some members of my family will never forgive me," he said.