![\"Britain's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SEI_308855077-9d09.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe Duke and Duchess of Sussex are understood to be coming back to the UK for \u2018longer than an extended period\u2019 (Picture: AFP via Getty)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tThe Duke and Duchess of Sussex are understood to be coming back to the UK for \u2018longer than an extended period\u2019 (Picture: AFP via Getty)<\/p>\n
Harry and Meghan have already secured a new home in the UK ahead of their return<\/a> later this month.<\/p>\n The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are understood to be coming back for \u2018longer than an extended period\u2019.<\/p>\n Their children Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, have already been enrolled in British schools.<\/p>\n The family is not thought to be moving into a royal residence, and it is understood there will be no change to\u00a0their role and status as private individuals and non-working royals<\/a>.<\/p>\n The exact location of their new home \u2013 save that it will be outside London<\/a> \u2013 is being kept tightly under wraps for security reasons.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tSign up for all of the latest stories\t\t\t<\/p>\n Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates<\/a> newsletter or get Breaking News<\/a> alerts the moment it happens. <\/p>\n One possibility is in the countryside around the Cotswolds<\/a> and Northampton, close to the Spencer family estate at Althorp.<\/p>\n \t\t \t\t In addition to spending time with the King at Highgrove earlier this summer<\/a>, the Sussexes are thought to have visited the family of Harry\u2019s mother Diana, Princess of Wales<\/a>.<\/p>\n Royal commentator Jennie Bond said Harry has remained close to his mother\u2019s family amid the ongoing rift with the Royal Family.<\/p>\n She told Sky News<\/a>: \u2018Harry has remained throughout close to the Spencer side of the family. His two aunts, Diana\u2019s sisters, and his uncle, her brother, and perhaps he talked [the move] through with them.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Maybe he\u2019s going to live up their way\u2026 Again, we don\u2019t know and I think that\u2019s a shame because we\u2019re all left speculating.\u2019<\/p>\n Photos posted to social media<\/a> by Meghan appear to show the family enjoyed a break at Althorp, with one\u00a0showing Lilibet walking through formal gardens behind her brother and father in the distance.<\/p>\n Another picture shows Harry in a pool throwing his daughter head-over-heels in the air while his son holds onto the edge\u00a0of\u00a0the pool.<\/p>\n Harry is believed to have taken Archie and Lilibet on an emotional visit to Diana\u2019s grave<\/a> on an island in a lake on the estate.<\/p>\n The young children met with their aunts, uncles and cousins on the trip, the BBC reports, adding that the family\u2019s UK visit last month<\/a> was \u2018significant\u2019 in their decision to relocate.<\/p>\n How have people reacted?<\/p>\n Queen Elizabeth<\/a> II\u2019s former press secretary Ailsa Anderson told BBC Radio 4\u2019s Today programme the Sussexes\u2019 return to the UK will be for \u2018longer than an extended period\u2019.<\/p>\n She said: \u2018They do have two young children, they will be enrolling in school. You can\u2019t flip-flop every two minutes and take them out of school and go back to the United States and then come back to the UK, so I can see that it\u2019s going to be longer than an extended period.\u2019<\/p>\n The former senior royal aide added that the \u2018extraordinary surprise\u2019 for Harry to return may have been inspired by his visit to Althorp.<\/p>\n She said: \u2018We know there\u2019s been an ongoing issue with security. He has said until this is rectified he won\u2019t be coming back to the United Kingdom, but clearly now he\u2019s had a change of heart and he wants to come back to his motherland.<\/p>\n \u2018And I wonder, because of the trip that he made earlier, and going back to his late mother\u2019s ancestral home in Northamptonshire, whether that\u2019s made a shift in his views, and he really wants to come back, because he\u2019s missed his life here for the last six years.<\/p>\n \u2018There will be questions asked, here is a non-working member of the royal family back in the United Kingdom. Should the British taxpayer really have to foot the bill for security?\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t Harry and Meghan\u2019s planned return to Britain came as a surprise to many on Wednesday night and the King was first made aware of the move just three days before it was made public.<\/p>\n The decision raises the question of how the news will be met by the Prince and Princess of Wales \u2013 and Kensington Palace has not yet commented.<\/p>\n William \u2013 the future king \u2013 is estranged from his brother after Harry levelled a barrage of accusations against the prince, Kate, the King and Queen Camilla in the years since the Megxit crisis of 2020.<\/p>\n Former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt suggested the shock return is likely to have left William \u2018apoplectic\u2019.<\/p>\n \u2018In the long term, the return of the Sussexes to the UK opens up the prospect of two rival courts, William\u2019s and Harry\u2019s,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n The Sussexes will retain their homes in Montecito, California, and Portugal, while the duchess will continue to run her lifestyle brand As Ever from their new base.<\/p>\n Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n For more stories like this, check our news page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"File](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SEI_308853962-e29b.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe Duke and Duchess of Sussex during a visit to the QuestScope Youth Center at the Za\u2019atari refugee camp (Picture: PA)<\/p>\n![\"LONDON,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SEI_302060054-43e4.jpg\")
\n\t\tEarl Spencer and Prince Harry at the unveiling of a statue of Diana, Princess of Wales in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n![\"TOPSHOT](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787224515_717_SEI_305964867-b994.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe decision raises the question of how the news will be met by the Prince and Princess of Wales (Picture: AFP via Getty)<\/p>\n
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\nMORE: Prince Louis supports Welsh team in adorable way at Commonwealth Games<\/a><\/p>\n