Prince Harry May Have Hinted at His and Meghan Markle’s U.K. Return Last Year
Prince Harry May Have Hinted at His and Meghan Markle’s U.K. Return Last Year
Rachel BurchfieldThu, August 20, 2026 at 2:31 PM UTC
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Prince Harry in London on January 22, 2026.Credit: GettyThe Gist -
On August 19, news broke that Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and their children will be returning to the U.K. for “an extended period of time.”
The family’s expected arrival is by the end of August, with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet due to start school there in September.
It turns out that Harry may have hinted at the relocation as far back as September 2025, in an under-the-radar conversation with Joss Stone at the WellChild Awards.
While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s bombshell return to the U.K. after six years away was a shock to the public, it seems Harry dropped a hint about the move a full year ago—though it largely went under the radar.
In September 2025, the Duke of Sussex spoke with British singer Joss Stone at an event for one of his patronages, WellChild. Stone moved back to the U.K. after living in Nashville, Tennessee, for several years, and the singer brought her daughter Nalima to the event and introduced her to Harry.
Joss Stone at the WellChild Awards on September 8, 2025.Credit: Getty
“It was really sweet to see him after all these years,” Stone told Hello!. “Harry was so lovely with Nalima—even though she slept through the whole thing! I will be sure to tell her that when she was two months old, a prince cooed over her and said she was beautiful.”
Stone added, “He joked about me having four children, saying it’s ‘two too many,’ or maybe it wasn’t a joke. He also asked about how we were settling back in and was genuinely interested in our move home.”
“Maybe Harry will move back, too,” she added last year. “That would be nice.”
Prince Harry at the WellChild Awards on September 8, 2025Credit: Getty
The singer noted that Harry “was saying how wonderful the schools are here and how important community is for children. It was nice to share that with him, because it’s exactly why we felt drawn to come back—for the kids to grow up surrounded by family, friends, and a strong sense of belonging and, most importantly, in a safe environment.”
On August 19, reports emerged that Harry, Meghan, and their children Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, would be moving back to the U.K. for “an extended period of time.” The couple left their working royal roles and the U.K. in 2020, moving across the pond to Montecito, California, in Meghan’s native United States.
The Sussex family is expected to live in a non-royal residence outside of London; Harry and Meghan are not set to resume their working royal roles, and Archie and Lilibet will begin school in the U.K. in September.
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Joss Stone and Prince Harry on June 27, 2016.Credit: Getty
The security situation for the Sussexes—long a sticking point, and what kept Meghan, Archie, and Lilibet away from Harry’s home country for four years—has not been publicly disclosed. Harry told the BBC in 2025, “I can’t see a world where I would be bringing my wife and kids back to the U.K. at this point. And the things that they’re going to miss is, well—everything.”
“I love my country,” he added. “I always have, despite what some people in that country have done.” Harry continued, “I miss the U.K. I miss parts of the U.K.—of course I do. And I think that it’s quite sad that I won’t be able to show my children my homeland.”
Meghan also expressed trepidation about moving back to the U.K., saying in a 2022 cover story with The Cut that, if Archie were in school in that country, she’d “never be able to do school pickup and dropoff without it being a royal photo call with a press pen of 40 people snapping pictures,” the outlet reported.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on August 7, 2026.Credit: Getty
“Sorry, I have a problem with that,” Meghan said at the time. “That doesn’t make me obsessed with privacy. That makes me a strong and good parent protecting my child.”
U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on August 20 that security funding for the Sussexes is a “private matter,” noting (per The Guardian), “It’s a matter for Harry and for Meghan, and we wish them well in the moves that they’re making.”
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on April 16, 2026.Credit: Getty
The U.K. move, at least at this juncture, isn’t permanent, and Harry and Meghan will retain ownership of their Montecito mansion as well as a vacation home in Portugal. Per Page Six, Harry began planning the move after meeting with his father, King Charles, in July (where the subject matter was not discussed). The king found out about the family’s plans on August 16, three days before news went public.
The monarch—who went public with his cancer diagnosis in February 2024—is “a big reason for their return,” a source told Page Six. The insider added that Harry and Meghan “have so many friends and family in the U.K. whom they remain so close to.”
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
