Harry and Meghan move back to UK, six years after leaving royal life behind

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - LONDON —The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived back in the United Kingdom on Wednesday, six years after they left the country and stepped back from royal life.

The Telegraph newspaper reported the family landed around lunchtime on Wednesday at Birmingham Airport. The family was reported to have made the journey on a Bombardier Global Express XRS luxury long-range business jet, according to Britain’s PA Media news agency.

The BBC, the country’s public broadcaster, earlier reported that Prince Harry and Meghan – along with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet – were understood to have flown privately into Britain from California.

The Sussexes’ return to the UK after living in the United States for the past six years was revealed last week. Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, are already enrolled in British schools for the coming term, which is due to start in September. The family has been living in the exclusive coastal neighborhood of Montecito, southern California, for the past several years.

Harry and Meghan are returning to the UK as private citizens and will not be resuming any official duties on behalf of King Charles III.

The couple left the UK for North America in 2020 after stepping back from royal life, and the years since have seen a public falling out with the wider royal family. Harry and Meghan had cited tabloid intrusion, racism in British institutions, online abuse and complex family dynamics as among the reasons behind their departure.

Harry has made several trips back to the UK, including for the funeral of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 and the coronation of his father King Charles III the following year.

The family were most recently back in Britain over the summer when they visited King Charles and Queen Camilla at Highgrove, the monarch’s private country residence in Gloucestershire, England. It was the first time the 77-year-old monarch had been reunited with his grandchildren in four years. The Sussexes also spent time with Harry’s mother’s side of the family at Althorp House, the Spencer estate in Northamptonshire.

King Charles was only informed of the family’s move earlier this month. Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, were also told of the Sussexes’ plans.

When asked by why they were moving back, a source close to the couple would only remark on how much they enjoyed their visit as a family to the UK last month.

Harry and Meghan are settling back in the UK for an extended period of time, according to British media, and will live in a private property outside of London. It is believed they will set up their base in the Cotswolds, an affluent part of the central English countryside. The pair have not yet spoken publicly about their plans.

The duke will likely have charity engagements in the weeks ahead, such as the annual ceremony run by WellChild, a charity that cares for seriously ill children and young people in the UK. Preparations are also underway for his Invictus Games, which will be hosted in Birmingham next year.

Meanwhile, Meghan’s latest posts on Instagram suggest she will continue to grow her As Ever lifestyle business. In recent days, there have also been rumors the duchess could be eyeing a return to acting. She is in talks to possibly join the third season of Guy Ritchie’s “The Gentlemen,” which shoots in the UK, a person familiar with ongoing discussions previously told CNN.