Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and their children, seven-year-old Prince Archie and five-year-old Princess Lilibet, are moving to the UK, People reports. At the same time, the status of Harry and Meghan will not change: they will not return to perform official duties as members of the royal family and will live in a private residence not associated with the court. Why the spouses are returning to the UK and whether they will abandon projects in Hollywood after this – in the RTVI material.
In 2020, the couple stepped back from their duties as senior members of the royal family and moved to California. Since then, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have visited the UK together only twice – in 2022 for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and in July this year, when they visited King Charles III at his Highgrove residence with their children.
The BBC has learned that the move was not discussed during the July visit, and the king himself only learned of Harry and Meghan's plans on Sunday. Sources close to the Sussexes emphasize that the family intends to spend a long time in the UK, but we are not talking about a final move.
According to People, the Duke and Duchess have no plans to sell their home in Montecito, California. Their estate was purchased in 2020 for $14.65 million and is in a secluded area with tall hedges and gated driveways. According to the New York Times, the couple's neighbors included Jeff Bridges, Rob Lowe, Gwyneth Paltrow, Orlando Bloom, Katy Perry and Oprah Winfrey.
In Great Britain, the family intends to set up a private residence that is not associated with the royal court. It is also reported that Archie and Lilibet will begin studying at a British school in September.
One of the main reasons for the disagreement between Prince Harry and the British authorities in recent years has been the issue of security. The July trip to the UK was at one point in doubt after Harry's request for security was rejected, according to the BBC.
Last year, the Duke lost a court battle over the level of government security he and his family could expect while in the country. It is not yet known what security measures will be in place upon their return. It is assumed that some of the controversial issues have been resolved, but the details of the agreements have not been disclosed.
Why is the couple moving?
According to the New York Post, Harry and Meghan want to spend more time in the UK to be closer to Charles III, who has cancer, and to give their children the opportunity to build relationships with relatives.
The move will also allow Harry to work more closely with the charities Scotty's Little Soldiers and WellChild, as well as prepare for the Invictus Games, an international sports competition for wounded servicemen, which he founded. Next year the tournament will be held in Birmingham.
However, returning to the UK does not mean that Harry and Meghan will abandon projects in the entertainment industry. As the Hollywood Reporter notes, modern Hollywood is much less tied directly to Los Angeles, so the couple will be able to continue working on Netflix projects from the UK.
In September 2020, eight months after announcing they would step back as senior members of the royal family, Harry and Meghan signed a deal with Netflix. During their time in the United States, they produced several projects, including the documentary series “Polo,” “Heart of the Invincible,” “Harry and Meghan,” as well as two seasons of the cooking show “Love, Megan.” Now the couple, among other things, are working on a full-length film adaptation of Carly Fortune’s novel “Meet Me at the Lake.”
For Megan, the move may mark a return to acting. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Markle is in talks to star in the third season of Guy Ritchie's The Gentlemen, which is filming in the UK. The second season of The Gentlemen premieres on September 3.
Before her marriage, Meghan Markle was an actress. She became most famous for the series Suits, in which she starred for seven seasons. In 2017, Markle left the project after her engagement to Prince Harry.
