Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are preparing for their most significant change in family life since stepping away from royal duties in 2020, with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex set to establish a new home base in Britain.
PEOPLE understands that Harry, 41, and Meghan, 45, will relocate to the U.K. with Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, for an extended period beginning this month. The children are expected to start school in Britain in September.
The move does not mean the Sussexes are abandoning their life in the United States. They will retain their Montecito, California, residence as well as their vacation property in Portugal, while setting up a private, non-royal home in Britain.
Details surrounding the location of their new residence and the school Archie and Lilibet will attend are being kept private.
First British home base since Frogmore Cottage
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The decision will give Harry and Meghan their first home base in Britain since they gave up the lease on Frogmore Cottage, their former Windsor residence.
The property had been given to the couple by the late Queen Elizabeth, but King Charles later asked them to vacate it following the publication of Harry’s memoir, Spare, in 2023.
According to PEOPLE, King Charles, 77, was informed of Harry and Meghan’s latest plans on Sunday, August 16.
The King is understood to welcome the prospect of spending more time with the Sussex family on a private and personal basis.
However, the arrangement does not signal a return to royal duties.
Charles is said to have made clear that Harry and Meghan’s status will remain unchanged. They will continue to be private individuals and non-working members of the royal family, consistent with the arrangement established when they stepped back from official duties.
Move follows Archie and Lilibet’s reunion with Charles
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The decision comes only weeks after Harry and Meghan traveled to Britain with Archie and Lilibet for a summer visit.
That trip included the children’s first reunion with their grandfather, King Charles, in more than four years.
The Sussexes’ new arrangement could now create more opportunities for private family contact while allowing them to maintain the independent life they have built outside the working monarchy.
People close to Harry and Meghan believe the couple have effectively created the version of the “half in, half out” lifestyle they originally proposed in 2019 — although without returning as working royals.
They will have a base in Britain while continuing to operate independently and fund their own lives.
Harry could spend significantly more time on U.K. causes
Having a British base will also make it easier for Harry to increase his involvement with organizations and causes based in the U.K.
These include Scotty’s Little Soldiers and WellChild, as well as his continuing work with the Invictus community.
Harry was already expected to return to Britain in September for engagements connected to WellChild, the children’s charity he has supported for more than two decades, and events associated with the Invictus Games.
Among the major upcoming occasions is the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards and gala. Those close to the Sussexes have not confirmed whether Harry and Meghan will attend.
Meghan, meanwhile, is expected to continue running her lifestyle company, As Ever, and developing future projects while working across the couple’s international bases.
Allies of the Sussexes say Harry and Meghan have now built the independent existence they wanted: supporting causes important to them while remaining financially self-sufficient, covering their own bills and mortgage and receiving no taxpayer funding.
Security concerns appear to have reached a turning point
Perhaps one of the most significant aspects of the move is what it suggests about Harry’s longstanding concerns over his family’s security in Britain.
Security has been a major obstacle since Harry and Meghan stopped working as senior royals.
After their departure from royal duties, they lost taxpayer-funded police protection. Harry subsequently embarked on a years-long legal battle over the arrangements governing security for himself and his family when visiting the U.K.
He has continued to argue that the government’s Royal and VIP Executive Committee, known as RAVEC, should carry out a fresh risk assessment, which he says has not taken place in more than six years.
Against that background, the decision to bring Meghan, Archie and Lilibet back to Britain for an extended period represents a notable shift.
Those close to the couple believe the move is the clearest indication so far that Harry feels the situation has reached a point where he is comfortable establishing a British base for his family again.
A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess declined to comment on security arrangements.
Montecito will remain part of their lives
Harry and Meghan’s longer-term residential plans have not been made clear.
Their Montecito property will remain their California home, and they will also keep their vacation property in Portugal.
Meghan is expected to continue overseeing As Ever while moving between the family’s international bases, while Harry’s increased presence in Britain will allow him to dedicate more time to his U.K. charities and patronages.
The arrangement therefore represents an expansion of the Sussexes’ family life rather than a complete departure from California.
A major change six years after leaving Britain
Harry and Meghan left Britain in 2020 following an increasingly public deterioration in their relationship with the royal family, particularly between Harry and his older brother, Prince William, now 44.
Relations became more strained after Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, their Harry & Meghan Netflix documentary series and the publication of Spare.
The couple subsequently established their family life in Montecito, where they appeared to settle comfortably with Archie and Lilibet.
At the same time, they have expressed dissatisfaction with aspects of the political climate in the United States.
There has also been public tension involving the Sussexes and President Donald Trump.
After Trump said in January 2026 that NATO allies had “stayed a little back” from the frontlines during the Afghanistan war, Harry, who served in Afghanistan, responded by pointing to his own military service, the friendships he formed there and the friends he lost.
Trump later commented on Meghan during remarks to royal biographer Robert Hardman in May, saying, “Boy, what she’s done to that guy [Harry].”
Harry encouraged by recent reception in Britain
People close to Harry also believe his recent experiences in Britain have strengthened his view that greater public exposure to Meghan could improve perceptions of her.
During a visit to Birmingham for charity engagements and Invictus Games promotion, Harry was reportedly encouraged by the level of public interest in his wife.
The family’s latest decision may also have been taking shape for considerably longer than previously known.
At the WellChild Awards in September 2025, Harry spoke with singer Joss Stone, who had moved her own family back to Britain after several years in Nashville, Tennessee.
Stone later recalled that Harry showed considerable interest in how her family had adjusted to returning home.
According to Stone, Harry asked about the move and how they were settling back into life in Britain. She came away from the conversation wondering whether he might eventually make a similar decision.
Stone also recalled that Harry was particularly interested in what returning to Britain had meant for her children.
She said they discussed the quality of British schools and the importance of community for children. Stone explained that those same factors — allowing her children to grow up around family, friends, a strong sense of belonging and in an environment she considered safe — had played an important role in her own family’s decision to return.
More than a year later, Harry and Meghan are now preparing to establish a British home base of their own, bringing Archie and Lilibet with them while retaining the independent, international life they have built since leaving royal duties.