Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will return to the UK in what could be a significant new phase in their complicated relationship with the British royal family. The couple resigned as senior working royals in 2020 and moved to California, but recent developments have suggested that the Sussexes’ relationship with the monarchy may be easing.
Harry and Meghan are expected to return to Britain without having official positions as working members of the royal family, but will see more time with Harry's father, King Charles III, and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, might become more attached to their royal family.
The return comes after years of public squabbles, legal disputes and very personal revelations. Harry and Meghan’s relationship with the royal family deteriorated even more as they left royal duties and then had interviews, a documentary series and Harry’s new memoir “Spare” published.
At the start of 2016, Harry and American actor Meghan Markle met through an old friend who had a crush on them. The couple attracted immense media attention very quickly. Harry defended Meghan from what he called the intrusion and hostile coverage around her, and he said it was the same kind of coverage as the press’ treatment his mother, Princess Diana, had received in the past.
Harry and Meghan announced their engagement in 2017 and got married in May 2018 in Windsor Castle in front of the world. Their first child Archie was born in May 2019. However, the couple’s growing concerns about life within the royal institution eventually led to their decision to step back from royal duties.
Harry and Meghan said in January 2020 that they would be financially independent and would abandon official royal duties. They moved to California later on. What was initially presented as a change of their royal duties developed into a major and highly publicized rift with members of the British royal family.
The couple later spoke openly about their experiences. Meghan was successful in a privacy lawsuit against the Daily Mail when she’d filed a private letter to her estranged father after he had to publish it. Harry, in his own case, sued British newspapers and the newspaper companies for unlawful information gathering and intrusion into his private life.
Security became another major issue. Harry, who had resigned from the role of royal patron, lost the same taxpayer-funded security he had previously received. The British courts ruled against Harry and the British government because his family would be put at risk when he was in the UK. He lost his legal challenge a short time later after dismissing the appeal.
The birth of daughter Lilibet in June 2021 added another dimension to the family story. Lilibet was introduced to Queen Elizabeth II for the first time on a visit to Britain, but the Sussexes were still living in the United States.
The death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022 was another important moment. The Queen died at the age of 96 after seven decades on the throne and her eldest son became King Charles III. Harry was at the service for the Queen’s death but relations with other senior royals were still rocky.
Harry's memoir “Spare” was published in January 2023. The book described his childhood, the death of Princess Diana, his membership in the royal family and his fraught relationship with his father, brother, and other relatives. The revelations drew a lot of national attention and highlighted the depth of the family dispute.
Harry also continued to appear on important occasions. He was at King Charles’ coronation in Westminster Abbey in May 2023, and Meghan and their children were in California. Later that year, Harry appeared in court with Mirror Group Newspapers as a witness and became the first senior British royal to testify in a case in over a century.
Buckingham Palace announced in February 2024 that King Charles had cancer and would be treated. Harry immediately flew from California to Britain to visit his father. It was short-lived, and Harry was back to the US the next day, but proved that family relationships were still relevant despite bitter disputes.
The relationship continued to be a battle but it also showed signs of reconciliation. Harry's security appeal was ultimately rejected by three Court of Appeal judges and there was a separate legal battle over The Sun that saw the publisher apologize for unlawful activities and intrusion into his private life.
Harry, for all of his reservations with the royal establishment and the media treatment, has repeatedly sought reconciliation. He said in a television interview that he wanted to reconcile with his family and that the door to reconciliation was not closed.
More recently, Harry’s trips to Britain and his meeting with King Charles have shown more signs of a possible thaw. A meeting between father and son, followed by renewed family contact, has fueled speculation that the Sussexes and the royal family might be trying to construct a more productive relationship on the basis of the bitter public disputes of earlier years.
Harry and Meghan’s return to the UK will only be one more development in that relationship. Their return is not that they’re going to be taking over royal duties. They may be inching forward in their personal and family life while continuing on outside them.
For King Charles, having contact with Archie and Lilibet could be especially important. The children’s relationship with their grandfather is a sensitive part of the wider family conflict because of the distance between California and Britain.
Whether the return is going to lead to a permanent reconciliation remains uncertain. Harry and Meghan are living a separate life in the United States and the monarchy is still doing its job and responsibilities as we know it. But returning to the scene would show that the relationship might be moving away from confrontation and toward an even more private bid to repair family ties.
Harry and Meghan returning to Britain would therefore not be a return to their former royal roles, but rather an attempt at reconciling their independent lives with their relationship with the royal family.
