Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to move back to UK later this month - six years after leaving for California
The move comes six years after the couple dramatically left the UK and set up base in the United States
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are reportedly moving back to the UK this month and have enrolled their two children at British schools.
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The move comes six years after the couple dramatically left the UK and set up base in California.
The pair are understood to be returning for an 'extended period' of time, according to the Daily Telegraph.
It is understood there will no change to Harry and Meghan’s role and status as private individuals and non-working members of the royal family.
The King was first made aware of the move on Sunday and is understood to welcome the opportunity to see more the family both in a private and personal capacity.
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But their status will remain the same, with the couple not being offered a “half-in-half-out” option when it comes to their roles.
The Telegraph – which broke the story – reports the couple’s children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, are enrolled to start at British schools in September.
Prince William and Princess Catherine have also been informed of the move.
The move comes after the couple left the UK and royal duties back in 2020.
Relations between the pair and the wider royal family had been strained since the move, with July's visit to Highgrove being a key development.
It was the first time the King had seen his grandchildren in person in more than four years.
Harry and Meghan, who married at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, in May 2018 to become the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, were once dubbed part of the “Fab Four” with the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
But in March 2019, Buckingham Palace announced Harry and Meghan would set up their own household, breaking from the joint operation they had with William and Kate, amid media reports of rifts between the two couples.
And in January 2020, the duke and duchess announced they intended to step back as “senior” members of the royal family, become financially independent, still support the Queen but split their time between the UK and North America.
By March 2020, they had set up a permanent home in Los Angeles, California, and on March 31 of that month, Harry and Meghan officially stepped down as senior royals and stopped using their HRH styles.
The shock announcement that the couple are moving back to Britain comes less than two months after the duke was trying to find a way to safely bring his wife and children to the UK to mark the one-year countdown to the Invictus Games in Birmingham.
At the end of June, he was still waiting for a review by the Risk Management Board (RMB), part of the process by which the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) rules on his security requirements – and he and his security detail were working behind the scenes to try to ensure the visit could take place safely.
Meghan was able to travel to the UK in July with Archie and Lilibet to join Harry when he came to the end of a week-long series of events promoting the games.
During the visit, the duke and duchess took their children to see the King for the first time in four years at his Highgrove home.
The Invictus Games take place from July 10-27 next year, with Birmingham expected to welcome around 550 wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans, and their families, from 25 nations.