Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet are thought to be arriving back in Britain today as they return after six years in the US.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expected to land in the UK after flying privately from California to start their new life in the country, according to BBC News.
The Sussexes are now setting up their home in the UK, in a shock development after they quit the working monarchy in 2020 and bought a house in Montecito.
Former Suits star Meghan is said to be pursuing an acting role amid reports that she remains in talks about a role in the third series of Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen.
Harry, 41, and Meghan, 45, will live in a non-royal residence outside of London and the children have both been enrolled in UK schools ready to start next month.
It comes a month after the couple took Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, to see their grandfather the King for the first time in four years at his Highgrove home in July.
The couple are not thought to have raised the prospect of a return to the UK at that meeting. The King was told they were moving back three days before it was revealed.
Some reports have suggested the Sussexes’ stay in the UK could last as little as just the autumn, with the family retaining their houses in Montecito and Portugal.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne in April
Harry and Meghan with their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in December 2025
Meghan meanwhile has unveiled the latest addition to her As Ever range – Spiced Apple Butter.
The jar of ‘orchard apples and fragrant spices’ is being launched today, ‘just in time for fall’, with Meghan’s brand saying the product captures the season’s ‘promise of crisp mornings and changing leaves just around the corner’.
She also posted an Instagram story in which she chuckled at what appeared to be a tea towel with the message: ‘People who take care of chickens are literally chicken tenders’.
It follows news that the Sussexes’ brood of chickens are remaining at their home in California to be cared for there.
Sussex-friendly People magazine suggested yesterday that the monarch wanted to see his estranged sons Harry and the Prince of Wales ‘together over time’, but the report has not been confirmed.
According to Harry’s autobiography, Charles pleaded with his sons during a tense meeting after Prince Philip’s funeral in 2021: ‘Please, boys. Don’t make my final years a misery.’
The brothers no longer speak, having fallen out around the time of Harry and Meghan’s 2018 wedding, with the relationship worsening post-Megxit following Harry’s accusations against the royal family in his Oprah interview, Netflix documentary and memoir Spare.
Meanwhile the rest of the royal family have gathered at Balmoral for their summer break.
Charles arrived at the Aberdeenshire summer retreat on Tuesday last week and William and Kate have since been pictured at the estate, as well as the Princess Royal and her brother the Duke of Edinburgh.
William and Kate have not reacted publicly to the news of the Sussexes’ return, but may have private conversations with the wider family during the break.
William, Kate and George arrive for a church service at Crathie Kirk near Balmoral last Sunday
King Charles III and Queen Camilla at the RHS Sandringham Flower Show in Norfolk last month
The future king is estranged from his younger brother after Harry levelled a barrage of accusations against him, Kate and the King and Queen in the wake of his stepping back from royal duties.
Charles, who only found out about the duke and duchess’s plans on the Sunday before they became public on the Wednesday of last week, is said to be happy to be able to spend more time with the Sussex family, but remains adamant they will not be working royals.
Harry and Meghan have not commented on their reasons for relocating to the UK, though a source close to the duchess did not deny reporting that she has been offered an acting role.
Questions have been raised over the Sussexes’ finances as decisions about whether taxpayers will foot the bill for their security remain unanswered, but the duchess will continue to run her lifestyle brand, As Ever, from their new base.
After his level of protection changed when he stepped down as a working royal in 2020, the duke has faced a protracted legal battle with the Home Office over security for him and his family while they are in the UK, and their arrangements may change when they become permanent residents again.
At the end of June, Harry was still waiting for a review by the Risk Management Board, 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 to try to ensure his July visit could go ahead safely.
Individual decisions on protective security for key public figures, including members of the royal family, are made by Ravec – which includes the Home Office, Metropolitan Police and Royal Household – which advises an independent chairperson.
Rumours have abounded as to where Harry and Meghan will choose to settle, with suggestions including rural locations in the Cotswolds.
Archie and Lili are expected to start at their new schools in early September and it is understood there will be no published photographs of the children when they start or on their birthdays, as for working royals.
The Daily Mail has contacted a representative of the Sussexes for comment on the couple’s return today.
A spokesman told the BBC: ‘This is not something we would comment on’.
