Prince Harry and Meghan Markle scurrying back to UK 6 years after Megxit
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Six years after Prince Harry and American TV actress wife Meghan Markle dramatically made a “Megxit” from the UK, they’re headed back across the pond.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex — along with their kids Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5 — are set to return to the bosom of Harry’s home country for “an extended period,” Page Six confirmed Wednesday — after they failed to become successful book authors, Netflix stars or jam makers in the colonies.
King Charles III, who met with the couple last month, was advised on Sunday that the couple would be making the shock move at the end of this month.
“The palace was made aware of the move,” a source confirmed to Page Six on Wednesday.
Harry, 41, and Markle, 45, have reportedly been planning to flee their $14 million mansion in sunny Southern California for several weeks — if not months.
But, they did not mention their plans to the royal family even during their visit last month, sources said.
The couple have enrolled their two young children at a British school and will live in a non-royal residence. They are not returning to royal life, and they will continue to work on independent businesses, sources told Page Six.
“I know that Charles is the reason they are moving back,” an insider said.
The Sussexes are said to remain in the UK throughout Archie and Lilibet’s schooling and will not be letting go of their $14 million sprawling Californian estate, according to the Sun, which first reported their move.
The Sussex kids can start school in September — with Archie going into Prep School and Lilibet into Year One.
It remains unclear where in Britain the couple will be relocating to and if they will splash out cash to purchase a property or instead rent.
The pair ditched their royal duties to relocate to the US in March 2020 after Meghan found that life working for “The Firm” just didn’t suit her.
The latest move has raised questions about the future of the 2020 Sandringham Agreement, dubbed “Megxit.”
The agreement allowed the couple the freedom to pursue independent businesses in exchange for withdrawing from active royal duties, meaning they could no longer formally represent the monarchy.
“After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution,” they said in a statement at the time.
“We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen,” they added, referencing Harry’s grandmother Elizabeth II, who died in 2022.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex added that they would “balance [their] time between the United Kingdom and North America” while “continuing to honour [their] duty” to the royal family.
The couple purchased a sprawling, ultra-private megamansion in Montecito, Calif., where they have lived since stepping back from royal life.
They welcomed their youngest child, Lilibet, after moving into the 18,000-square-foot home that features a chicken coop, rose gardens, century-old olive trees, a tennis court, a tea house, children’s cottage and a pool.
Since moving to the US, both Harry and Markle have been outspoken in their criticism of the royal family — setting up an awkward homecoming for the couple.
About a year after they’d settled in California, the pair sat down with Oprah Winfrey for a tell-all interview in which the “Suits” actress discussed her tortured relationship with the royal family.
Markle admitted at the time that she’d “naively” entered the royal brood and only later realized “there’s the family, then there’s the people that are running the institution,” adding: “Those are two separate things.”
Harry then published a 2023 tell-all memoir, “Spare,” in which the duke accused his older brother William — who is next in line for the throne — of physically attacking him and alleged that his father, Charles, called him a “spare” when he was born — sparking the title of the book, a reference to Harry being far down the line of succession to the British throne.
Despite the public dragging of his relatives, Harry said he “would love reconciliation” with members of the royal family in an interview with the BBC last year, but acknowledged his devastation over a UK court denying his appeal after his family’s publicly-funded security was stripped away.
“I can’t see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK at this point,” he had said at the time.
“I miss parts of the UK, of course I do. And I think that it’s really quite sad that I won’t be able to show, you know, my children.”
It is unclear whether the couple’s taxpayer-funded security will be reinstated, the Sun reported. Harry and Meghan are returning to the UK with dramatically diminished popularity with the British public.
Just 20% of Brits have a positive view of Meghan and two-thirds have a negative view. About 30% have a favorable view of Prince Harry, according to a YouGov poll. Prince William has a 76% approval rating.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.