Harry and Meghan return: six years of exile ends this fall

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are winding down the California chapter of their lives and moving to the UK—this month. The children will go to British school in September, and the couple themselves, according to several sources, will settle in a private house near London, while remaining “non-working” members of the royal family.

Six years later — back to the island

Several publications wrote about this almost simultaneously, including the American People magazine and the British The Telegraph, and then the story was picked up by Reuters, CNN and the Hollywood Reporter — a rare case when so many large editorial offices simultaneously receive confirmation from sources close to the couple. Neither Harry’s press service nor Buckingham Palace have given official comments yet, which is a common practice for such news about the British monarchy: the palace prefers not to confirm or deny until the decision becomes a fait accompli.

The move is planned for the end of August — that is, literally in the coming weeks. Seven-year-old Prince Archie and five-year-old Princess Lilibet will travel to Britain with their parents — both are already enrolled in a British school and are due to start classes in September. It is noteworthy that the house that the family is looking after is not in the royal residence, but in the private sector outside London: no one plans to change the status of “non-working” family members, agreed upon with the late Queen Elizabeth II in March 2020.

How did we get to this life

To understand why Harry's return is, in principle, perceived as a sensation, it is worth remembering how it all began. In 2018, the wedding of the prince and the former American actress in the chapel of Windsor Castle was presented as a symbol of renewal of the monarchy — a young, modern duchess, whose mother is of African-American heritage, was supposed to breathe new energy into the institution. But two years later, in March 2020, the couple unexpectedly announced to many that they were giving up official duties and moving overseas.

Next comes Californian life in seaside Montecito near Santa Barbara, a 16-bedroom mansion worth about $14.7 million, and at the same time a series of high-profile public statements about life inside the monarchy. A documentary series on Netflix, an interview with Oprah Winfrey, where Meghan spoke about a question from an unnamed family member about the skin color of her unborn son (the heir to the throne, Prince William, subsequently publicly denied accusations of racism), and finally Harry’s memoir “Spare” with frank attacks on his father and older brother — all this brought relations within the family to an actual break.

A separate topic is the issue of security. Harry has repeatedly stated that changes in the conditions of his protection by the British authorities (after resigning from royal duties, he is no longer entitled to automatic police protection) is one of the reasons why he could not freely bring children to Britain. Apparently, this particular problem has received some kind of solution in recent months — otherwise the conversation about moving with children in September simply would not make sense.

Thaw with the king — and icy silence with my brother

The first signs of a thaw in relations with King Charles appeared back in September last year, when father and son met briefly for the first time in 20 months. The context is also important here: in 2024, Charles was diagnosed with cancer, and in December he publicly announced that the treatment had given an “exceptionally good” result and the dosage of the drugs began to be reduced. A parent’s serious diagnosis often becomes the very reason that forces adult children to put grievances aside — it seems that this particular scenario worked in Harry’s case.

Last month, a couple with children already came to Britain, and Charles saw his grandchildren for the first time since 2022. At the same time, according to sources, the king only learned about the plans to move last Sunday — that is, even with outwardly warm relations, the degree of trust within the family remains quite low. But with his brother, Prince William, there has been no warming up at all: according to sources, Harry practically does not communicate with him, despite all the family meetings in recent months.

Hollywood did not happen

While bridges were being built in London, in Los Angeles the couple had their own media life. Harry and Meghan settled in a house north of Hollywood and launched several media projects at once — a multimillion-dollar podcast contract with Spotify and an agreement with Netflix, which, among other things, included a lifestyle show with Meghan as the host.

The result was uneven. Harry's memoirs became a bestseller — perhaps the only unambiguous success here. But the podcast contract with Spotify closed without meeting expectations, and Megan’s show on Netflix was not renewed for a third season. The executive editor of the Hollywood publication Deadline, Dominic Patten, in a conversation with Reuters, noted that the couple never achieved the status of superstars of the first magnitude, but at the same time managed to maintain public interest in their story, even in a city where celebrities appear and disappear with kaleidoscopic speed — and this, according to him, in itself can be considered a kind of achievement.

What does this mean in practice

For the Russian reader, the story of the Sussexes is interesting not only as a gossip column, but also as an illustrative example of how media capital is converted — or not converted — into real money and influence. Six years ago, leaving the monarchy was presented as a bet on independence and commercial success along the lines of Hollywood celebrities. In fact, it turned out differently: the couple’s most stable asset turned out to be not a podcast or a series, but a good old institution, which they had once pointedly abandoned. Returning to Britain is essentially a recognition that the purely media model of earning money has not justified itself, and the status of members of the royal family, albeit “non-working” ones, still remains a much more reliable capital than a contract with any streaming platform.

Another interesting point is the symbolic meaning of the return itself. The British press has been discussing the possible “reconciliation” of the Sussexes with the monarchy for years, and now this is happening not through a high-profile television interview, but through the most ordinary action — enrolling children in a regular school. Perhaps this is what speaks more eloquently than any statement that the couple seriously plans to stay on the island for a long time.

Sources:
reuters.com
hollywoodreporter.com
abc.net.au

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