{"id":1178484,"date":"2026-08-31T05:36:35","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T05:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1178484\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T05:36:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T05:36:35","slug":"royal-return-whats-next-for-meghan-and-harry-as-they-settle-into-uk-life-in-the-countryside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1178484\/","title":{"rendered":"Royal Return: What’s next for Meghan and Harry as they settle into UK life in the countryside?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Harry, Meghan and their children, Prince Archie<\/a>, seven, and Princess Lilibet<\/a>, five, landed on British soil<\/a> last Wednesday, there were still many unanswered questions about how and when they might return to the royal fold.<\/p>\n

After all, Harry has not been seen in public with his brother, the Prince of Wales<\/a>, since their grandmother Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September 2022, while he and Meghan have made no secret of their disdain for royal life and certain members of the royal family during their six years in Montecito, California.<\/p>\n

\"Meghan\u00a9 Netflix”They\u2019ve talked about returning for a long time”<\/p>\n

As royal commentators debated what the future could hold for the returning Sussexes, Harry, Meghan and their children started their English adventure by flying into Birmingham Airport last week on a private jet. There was no police escort at the airport; rather, the family were whisked off in two blacked-out people carriers and a van that had been privately arranged, underlining the fact that the taxpayer-funded security that Harry has been desperate to arrange for so long has not yet been granted.<\/p>\n

A risk assessment, carried out on the orders of the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec), took place at the end of July but the outcome is not yet known.<\/p>\n

\"Meghan\u00a9 InstagramThe Sussexes are now back in the UK for an extended stay<\/p>\n

Also travelling with the family in the jet were their dogs \u2013 Pula, a black labrador retriever, and Mia, a beagle, both of whom will be joining them at their new home. Their chickens, however, remain in Montecito.<\/p>\n

As for what Harry will do while he is in the UK, he is reportedly keen to focus on the charity patronages he retains, although he described himself as a full-time dad on Joe Marler’s podcast earlier this year. Meghan will continue to build her lifestyle brand, As ever, and is said to be planning a return to acting, having reportedly been in discussions about a role in Netflix’s drama series The Gentlemen.<\/p>\n

“It’ll be the same as what he’s been doing in California,” a friend tells HELLO!<\/strong>. “When the kids are at school, he’ll be on calls and having meetings with his patronages and organisations, but some of those can now be face-to-face.”
The friend continues: “They’ve talked about returning for a long time and there’s no one thing that’s drawn them back, but all the pieces of the puzzle have landed at the right time \u2013 school, education, career, family. All of those things have to align.”<\/p>\n

Of course, any success in rebuilding broken bridges with the royal family could have an impact on how long the family remains in the UK. Katie Nicholl, the author of The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy and the Future of the Crown, exclusively tells HELLO!<\/strong> that there is much hope for reconciliation, with the King \u2013 and, perhaps surprisingly, his sister, the Princess Royal<\/a> \u2013 likely to be instrumental.<\/p>\n

“For the most part, when it comes to forging a path for conciliation with the wider family, where the King leads, the others will follow,” she says.<\/p>\n

\"Meghan,\u00a9 Max Mumby\/Indigo\/Getty ImagesThe Duke and his older brother are not believed to have spoken in years<\/p>\n

“I think there is an acceptance among the royals that although this has been unexpected, they are going to have to do their best to appear to be making Harry and Meghan and the children feel welcome, because at the heart of the royal family are the Christian values of compassion and forgiveness.<\/p>\n

“Harry has always had a very good relationship with his aunt Princess Anne. Even if there would briefly be a cold shoulder, I think Anne will put her best foot forward and follow the example of the [late] Queen in being magnanimous and forgiving \u2013 she’s a good aunt in that respect.<\/p>\n

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“I think she will be one who has sat back and predicted all of this and not been surprised that they’re coming back, somewhat with their tails between their legs, because things haven’t worked in America.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Yet there is one person in particular who may take some persuading: Harry’s brother, the Prince of Wales. It is believed that the siblings have not spoken for at least two years after William and his wife, the Princess, became targets in Harry’s memoir, Spare, which laid bare the strained relationship between the brothers and their wives.<\/p>\n

“The most problematic relationship is going to be that between the Sussexes and the Waleses, but particularly between William and Harry,” Katie says. “That’s the one that the world’s gaze will be focused on.<\/p>\n

“I think there will be some pressure on William, as a future King who will one day be head of the Church of England, to step up and be the bigger of the brothers to show forgiveness. I think Harry’s move to Britain will accelerate that inevitable reconciliation, which will have to come at some point.<\/p>\n

\"Diana,\u00a9 Antony Jones\/Julian Parker\/UK Press via Getty Images”Harry is reportedly working on a documentary about his mother”<\/p>\n

“In many ways, Harry’s got William over a barrel. I’m sure that, behind the scenes at Balmoral, there will have been many conversations between William and Catherine, and between William and the King. Everything I hear is that the Waleses have been blindsided.\u201d
One event may well bring the brothers together, though: next year marks the 30th anniversary of the death of their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, on 31 August. To mark the occasion, Harry is reportedly working on a documentary about his mother, for which he is said to have approached friends and family.<\/p>\n

“The 30th anniversary is going to be quite significant, and I think we’re going to see more of Harry trying to take over the ownership of Diana’s legacy, which is bound to irritate his brother,” Robert Jobson, the author of The Windsor Legacy, tells HELLO!<\/strong>. “There’s going to be a moment where there has to be some form of arrangement for the anniversary. How can the brothers not be together? They have to be on the same stage.”<\/p>\n

Something else that may irritate William is the suggestion that, although they are not working royals, Meghan and Harry could be seen to be setting up a rival court in the UK, with the prospect of their activities upstaging those of the royal family.<\/p>\n

“Private secretaries compare diaries months ahead so that one engagement does not clash with another. It only works because everyone accepts its authority, and a hierarchy built around precedence rather than public profile,” Robert says.<\/p>\n

“As it stands, the Sussexes sit outside that system, because they are private individuals. Their diary answers to commercial commitments in a way that working royals cannot.<\/p>\n

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“Ultimately, I think that if Harry’s here, the King will embrace him as a working royal again. I don’t think he necessarily has to embrace Meghan, because I don’t think she wants to do it. I think Harry would love to get involved in the army and in charities more closely again.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Aside from their teams of advisors, the Duke and Duchess have a support system of old friends with whom they will no doubt reconnect in this new chapter. Among them is Harry’s uncle Earl Spencer; the Sussexes spent time at his and Diana’s ancestral home, Althorp, when they visited the UK in July.<\/p>\n

“He’s definitely close to the Spencers \u2013 probably closer than William is,” Robert says. “He seems to be more of a natural Spencer anyway. They seem to be very close at a time when he is facing increasing exile from other members of the royal family.”<\/p>\n

Harry has also kept in touch with childhood friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“William and Harry have always had a group of friends that moved within a similar social circle and, inevitably, when Harry and Meghan left, it was so divisive and raw that the friends were told to pick one side or the other, and that\u2019s what they did,” Katie says.<\/p>\n

She identifies the former royal equerry Mark Dyer, Harry’s old friend Charlie van Straubenzee\u00a0<\/strong>and the film-maker Arthur Landon<\/strong> as key figures in the Prince’s reintroduction into his former friendship circles.<\/p>\n

However, things won’t be as simple for Meghan, who grew up in California. Aside from her close friend Markus Anderson<\/strong>, an executive at Soho House with whom she has spent time at Soho Farmhouse in the Cotswolds, and the PR\u00a0Isabel May<\/strong>, it is not known who she may reach out to.<\/p>\n

\"Meghan,\u00a9 Ben Stansall – WPA Pool\/Getty ImagesMeghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, stayed behind in California<\/p>\n

“In many ways, the challenge will be harder for Meghan. She will have to make friends. She has a couple of allies over here \u2013 just not many,” Katie says.<\/p>\n

No doubt the Duchess will greatly miss her mother, Doria Ragland<\/strong>, who turns 70 this week and is staying in California.<\/p>\n

“She has spent a huge amount of time with the grandchildren whenever Harry and Meghan have been away,” Katie says of Doria. “It wouldn’t surprise me if the new Sussex home has some kind of annexe where Doria will be able to stay.”<\/p>\n

It seems likely that the family’s home and the children’s school will be in the Cotswolds, a picturesque area of the country where Harry and Meghan lived happily before their wedding in 2018. The area is home to celebrities including Jeremy Clarkson<\/strong>, Baron Cameron<\/strong>, Simon<\/strong> and Lauren Cowell<\/strong>, Sir David<\/strong> and\u00a0Lady Beckham<\/strong>, Kate Moss<\/strong> and Liam Gallagher<\/strong>. Meghan and Harry’s friend Ellen DeGeneres<\/strong> and her wife, Portia de Rossi<\/strong>, live there, too.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether the couple and their children will join the next big family gathering \u2013 Christmas at Sandringham \u2013 to which the King is likely to invite them. So, can we expect the Sussexes to play happy families alongside their royal relatives during the annual festive walk to church?<\/p>\n

“This is the tricky scenario that our King is being asked to navigate,” Robert says. “It was easier when the Sussexes were thousands of miles away in Montecito, but now that they are back, it has got more complex. It will be the first big test of the new royal family dynamic.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Harry, Meghan and their children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, landed on British soil last…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1178485,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7708],"tags":[13080,238103,1281,447,5105,7710,519,448,7796],"class_list":["post-1178484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-royals","tag-british-royals","tag-hello-vip","tag-meghan-markle","tag-prince-harry","tag-royal","tag-royal-families","tag-royal-family","tag-royals","tag-royalty"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117188508195513895","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1178484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1178484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1178484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1178485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1178484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1178484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1178484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}