Why now? The sad reality behind Harry and Meghan’s return to Britain

Analysis: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are the couple who continue to surprise and shock – all while, at the same time, not really surprising or shocking anyone.

Today’s news that Prince Harry and Meghan will move back to Britain next month, enrolling their children into a school there, is the latest in a series of highs and lows from Team Sussex in the decade they have been together.

The curveball has come six years after they quit the royal family, relocating to the US citing financial reasons, the desire for privacy and their overall unhappiness with royal life.

Many observers are now asking why Prince Harry and Meghan have decided to leave their seemingly charmed lives in sunny California for the UK, where both − by their own admission − were deeply unhappy.

Behind the scenes, a sad reality is emerging.

The glaring part to all of this is the monarch’s health. King Charles, who will be 78 in November, was diagnosed with cancer in January 2024.

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Prince Harry said last year: “I don’t know how much longer my father has,” referencing his cancer diagnosis.

The duke had flown to the UK within hours of Charles’ health news being made public and saw the king again in September last year.

Harry then brought his wife and children to see the king at Highgrove House in July.

The king is said to be “naturally pleased” to be able to spend more time with his younger son and his grandchildren, according to The Telegraph UK which broke the news of the Sussexes imminent return.

For anyone who has experienced a family member, or a close friend, going through cancer or another serious illness, the desire to be close by is natural. It’s a pull that’s difficult to ignore.

While the king is maintaining a busy work schedule, and appears healthy, he is still being treated for the undisclosed form of the disease.

In December, the king announced the “good news” that his weekly cancer treatment would be “reduced” in 2026, owing to “early diagnosis, effective intervention and adherence to doctors’ orders”, calling it a “milestone” that was “both a personal blessing” and proof of the “remarkable advances” in cancer care.

However, the monarch is not in remission, nor has he been cured. In other words, Charles is “not out of the woods yet” − which is how his other daughter-in-law, Catherine, described her own battle with cancer while having chemotherapy in mid-2024.

Prince Harry, too, has made no attempts to hide his desire to return to Britain. The 43-year-old, long regarded as the restless one of his family, is homesick.

“I miss the UK, I miss parts of the UK, of course I do,” he told the BBC last year.

“And I think that it’s really quite sad that I won’t be able to show my children my homeland.”

Last month, Harry got his wish to take his wife and children back to the UK where they were reunited with King Charles for the first time in four years. Their relationship had been maintained through long-distance video calls.

He and Meghan, and their children, managed to get around undetected during their brief time in the UK − disproving Harry’s belief that they would be hounded by the paparazzi.

He had previously said the lack of adequate security (taxpayer-funded police protection) meant he couldn’t “see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK”.

The duke expressed his sadness at his son and daughter potentially missing out the quintessential Britishness of his childhood, including the customs and traditions they wouldn’t experience in America saying “the things that they’re going to miss is, well, everything”.

Harry added, somewhat sadly: “I love my country, I always have done, despite what some people in that country have done...”

When the Sussexes jumped ship in 2020, just two years after their hugely popular royal wedding, Harry left his family, his friends, his home and his culture.

He has never really seemed at home in California and for all his appearances on podcasts, late night talk shows and cameos in the duchess’ cooking series With Love, Meghan, Harry has come across as being uncomfortable and stiff, while trying his best to appear down to earth and at ease.

Now, it’s Meghan’s turn to make the sacrifice for her beloved “H”.

The duchess has been very outspoken about how unhappy she was when she lived in the UK, having moved there to marry her prince after a whirlwind courtship.

In 2021, Meghan spoke about experiencing intense loneliness in the UK and contemplating suicide while pregnant with Archie.

At one point she thought she “could not feel lonelier”, she told Oprah Winfrey.

Asked by Winfrey if she considered self-harm, Meghan answered: “Yes. This was very, very clear. Very clear and very scary. I didn’t know who to turn to in that.”

That same interview contained accusations of racism and neglect by Harry and Meghan at the hands of the royal family, allegations that were strongly disputed by the late Queen Elizabeth II in a rare statement that included the infamous line that “recollections may vary”.

Two years before, during a visit to Africa, Meghan admitted she struggled to adapt to certain elements of life in the UK.

“I really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a stiff upper lip ... but I think that what that does internally is probably really damaging,” she told Harry & Meghan: An African Journey.

Another claim by the duchess, which makes their decision to move back all the more puzzling, is her suggestion that she would never be able to do the school run in the UK without it turning into a paparazzi spectacle, suggesting there would be a press pen of 40 people snapping pictures.

“Sorry, I have a problem with that,” Meghan said in an interview with The Cut in 2022.

“That doesn’t make me obsessed with privacy. That makes me a strong and good parent protecting my child.”

Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet have been enrolled in a British school, suggesting Harry and Meghan plan to make their move to the UK a permanent one or, at the very least, more than just another fleeting visit.

Could Meghan be not just doing this for “H” but with her children’s best interests at heart?

Their royal titles of prince and princess, conferred onto Archie and Lilibet when their grandfather became king in 2023, are taken way more seriously in the UK than in the US where there is no royal family.

Those royal titles bring a level of status and privilege not available to Archie and Lilibet in the US and, depending on how you see it, could be a major boost to the children’s future prospects.

Princess Anne famously declined royal titles for her two children Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall and other royals from monarchies in Europe don’t use theirs so they can pursue their own interests without any repercussions on their respective families.

But being a “prince” or “princess” is an undeniable status symbol in the UK and one Meghan will want to have associated with her children.

Regardless of whether their parents are “working royals” or not, Prince Archie is sixth in line to the throne and Princess Lilibet is seventh. They are significant in the order of succession.

Meghan’s instincts as a mother could be at play here, ensuring her children’s futures are positioned in the best way possible.

But the duchess is also leaving behind her friends, family, California-girl lifestyle and her enviable home in Montecito. The Sussexes will keep the mansion but how they will fund its upkeep while they are away isn’t clear.

Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland, with whom she is especially close, lives in California and regularly helps out with the children. Perhaps she is making the move to the UK, too, to support her daughter. She had previously spent large periods of time when Meghan was living in the UK before and after the royal wedding.

The other two glaring holes in Harry and Meghan’s plans are the issues surrounding their privacy and security.

Their original quest for privacy, cited when they left the UK for the US, has been called into question on countless occasions owing to the couple’s podcasts, interviews, docu-series, red-carpet appearances and social media posts.

Meghan’s personal Instagram page has been her platform for sharing family photos and videos, many featuring Archie and Lilibet albeit with their faces partially obscured.

Prince Harry’s attempts to have his taxpayer-funded security reinstated has failed at every turn, including a costly High Court case and appeal. The situation is reportedly under review with the Home Office committee responsible for deciding on such matters.

His inability to secure police protection officers last month saw Meghan pull out of two planned appearances alongside the duke in support of the Invictus Games in Birmingham. There were also rumours Archie and Lilibet would join their parents in public, but that never happened.

As their children get older, Prince Harry and Meghan know they cannot shield Archie and Lilibet from the cameras forever.

The intense interest in the Sussexes’ return to the UK will all but guarantee the family will be a target for photographers − professional and anyone with a camera phone.

While the Archie and Lilibet’s UK cousins Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis − children of the Prince and Princess of Wales − are left alone by the British press, that first image of the Sussex children on UK soil will be a prized one.

Prince Harry and Meghan are the couple who love to surprise and while this move has shocked many, the warning signs have been there for some time.

The American dream may be over and there is no love lost between the Sussexes and the US President, Donald Trump.

Their aspirations for media domination and philanthropy in the US have fizzled out with little interest in their latest projects for Netflix.

With Love, Meghan was cancelled after two seasons, her podcasts have ended and the duchess has spoken so much about her life that there seems little else to find out.

Lucrative multi-million contracts with Spotify and Netflix have also ended and Prince Harry has already published a tell-all, Spare, in 2023.

Meghan’s lifestyle brand As ever will continue in the UK, it is understood. But just how many jams, flower sprinkles, wines and honey she can sell to UK customers is doubtful, especially in a market where produce from the various royal estates, including Sandringham and Highgrove, are highly coveted by tourists visiting Britain.

It’s safe to say Harry and Meghan’s relationship with the royal family, particularly Prince William, has been affected by their decision to speak so candidly about private issues − and earn top dollar for doing so.

They may be getting back into the good books with King Charles but Harry and Meghan have a tougher time of repairing their fractured relationship with the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Prince William and Catherine cut off contact with the Sussexes years ago, The Telegraph UK reports, having felt deeply betrayed by Harry and Meghan’s actions since leaving the UK six years ago.

Prince Harry and Meghan even hinted at their plans in 2020, when they announced their exit from royal duties.

“We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America,” the Sussexes said on their now-defunct Instagram page.

They intended to continue “to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages”, adding “this geographic balance” would give their son “an appreciation for the royal tradition” and give the family space to pursue their own interests.

Prince Harry and Meghan’s Australian tour in April, which blended commercial events with charity, proved the couple could be half-in, half-out royals − on their own terms.

The model was rejected by Queen Elizabeth II at the Sandringham Summit in 2020 and King Charles is said to be firm that Prince Harry and Meghan’s status as non-working royals and private individual will not change.

William, too, is highly unlikely to want to see Prince Harry back on official duty representing the monarchy he has heavily criticised in recent years.

Recently, there was a piece in The Times that questioned why the couple continues to whinge so much.

“Harry and Meghan’s photos show a perfect summer. Why aren’t they happy?” the headline read.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex appeared to have it all in Montecito but, perhaps, the grass was no more greener on the other side.