Prince Harry has said his children are loving life in the UK, where regular playdates with friends have helped them settle after the family’s move from the United States.
The Duke of Sussex said Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, were “loving school” and had benefited from being close to family, friends and other children.
“It’s been nice to be close to friends, family, friends of friends and their children as well – to be able to have endless play dates to really, like, help our kids settle in,” Harry said in an interview with GQ.
Harry and Meghan Markle moved to the UK with their children in August, after six years living in America. They had previously been based in Montecito, California, and relocated following a summer holiday in Europe earlier this year.
The children were initially enrolled at a local school, but were withdrawn after two days following discussions with the family’s security team. They were subsequently moved to a school closer to home.
The location of the family’s UK home and the children’s school has not been disclosed for security reasons. Meghan has been seen at Soho Farmhouse in the Cotswolds, while she has also shared images of Archie and Lilibet enjoying time in the countryside.
Harry said having his children in the British school system had “meant a lot” and offered them “a whole different experience” from life in the US.
“I think for kids at seven and five to be able to have that comparison and to have two completely different cultural experiences is so important today,” he said.
He added that returning to the place where he grew up had allowed him to show his children some of the experiences he had enjoyed, while avoiding “necessarily the bad”.
The decision to move the children’s school was announced in September. A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan said it had followed discussions about “the practicalities of their current arrangements” and that the parents remained grateful to the teachers and staff for their care.
Singer Joss Stone previously said Harry had spoken to her about moving back to the UK, telling her that schools and community were important for children. Stone, a mother of four, had lived in Nashville, Texas, before relocating to the British Isles.
Harry has also spoken about his son’s first impressions of the new school. “My son turned round to me and said, ‘Can I go to a school that doesn’t do math?’” he said, adding that he told Archie: “Doesn’t exist.”
The interview also touched on Harry’s strained relationship with the Royal Family. He said reconciliation was “the most important thing” to him, but added: “Some people don’t want it to work out. I want it to work out.”
Harry and his brother, the Prince of Wales, have not spoken in four years. The Sussexes’ departure from frontline royal duties in 2020 was followed by a widening rift with the Royal Family, including their accusations of racism during an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Harry said “scars stick around forever” but encouraged people to let go of the past. He described his relationships with the King and the Prince of Wales as complicated and said he wanted to reconcile.
Hours after the interview was released, a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex said his comment about some people not wanting reconciliation was not aimed at William or any other family member.
“It was absolutely not intended as a swipe at his brother or any other member of his family,” the spokesperson said. “The comment was made in a general context and was not directed at his family in any way.”
