The Prodigal Duke and Duchess Return

Usually I glance at a New York Times push alert, see that it is of some global or economic consequence but has no immediate impact on my life, and so, for better or worse, the news leaves my mind—Federal Reserve rate changes, Trump cabinet nominations, G7 meetings. But last night, I was treated to a different type of push alert, one of absolutely zero global or economic consequence nor impact on my life, and yet, it stuck in my mind—because given previous developments in this story, it’s somewhat surprising: Prince Harry and Meghan are moving back to the UK.

Six and a half years after stepping back from their duties as working royals, moving to the United States, and settling into an uber-Californian lifestyle, they’re headed back across the pond and have reportedly enrolled their kids (Archie, who’s 7, and Lilibet, who’s 5) in British schools. They’ll reportedly live outside London, in a non-royal residence, and keep their Montecito, California, home and Portugal vacation property. My initial (admittedly snarky) suspicion for the move was that their billionaire-adjacent lifestyle had gotten too expensive for them to maintain—various anonymous sources have been saying for months that “money is tight” for the couple, whose annual expenses are estimated at $6 million—but if they’re holding onto their extremely valuable California property, money can’t be it. 

According to Victoria Ward, deputy royal editor at The Telegraph and one of the journalists who first broke the story, discussions about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (henceforth referred to as “the Sussexes,” even though that’s an improper use of royal titles—they’re not last names!!) moving back to the UK had been ongoing “for quite a long time.” However, King Charles (who was diagnosed with cancer nearly three years ago) apparently did not learn of their plans until this weekend, and is reportedly happy about the news. He had not seen his grandchildren in years until earlier this summer, when the Sussexes visited the UK. 

The family reunion must have gone at least moderately well, if Meghan and Harry have chosen to return to the environment that treated them so badly. Because with this news, that’s the elephant in the room: The Sussexes spent the first few years of their newfound American independence talking about how horrible their lives were as members of the royal family, between their engagement in late 2017 and their move in early 2020. Meghan faced varying degrees of racism, sexism, and anti-Americanism from the British press and the royal family. In a famous interview with Oprah that aired in 2021, they talked about how bad Meghan’s mental health became toward the end of their tenure in the UK, and how the couple felt abandoned by the royal family, especially regarding the microscopic criticisms levied by the notoriously horrible British tabloids. They then expanded upon their us-against-the-world-and-especially-the-royal-family perspective via a limited Netflix series that premiered in December 2022, and in Harry’s memoir, Spare, which came out in January 2023.

They’ve also been party to numerous lawsuits against various British newspapers over the last few years, winning some but not with any consistency. The most recent ruling, which came down in July and did not fall in their favor, could mean that they—along with other plaintiffs, including Elton John—have to pay the legal costs incurred by their opponent, the publisher of the Daily Mail. (On that note, the Daily Mail is having a field day about their return, as I’m sure you’d imagine. I especially like one columnist’s warning that the move is part of an “Establishment plot.” I mean, yes. They’re literally aristocracy, I’m not sure it gets much more “establishment” than that!) 

A lot will be different about the Sussexes’ second crack at living in the UK. They’ve got two small children, one of the few rare areas where the tabloids show restraint. Charles is in charge, and still receiving treatment for his cancer. His brother, the Jeffrey Epstein associate and man formerly known as Prince Andrew, has been banished from official royal duties, but still casts a fairly large shadow over the monarchy—the family might welcome the media diversion the Sussexes could provide. But also, crucially, the two are no longer working royals, which means they’re not moving back as official representatives of the family—and that they must at least partially support themselves. I suspect that that means Meghan’s As Ever product line is actually doing fairly well, though the company has never publicly disclosed any information, resulting in competing narratives about its financial position. 

And then there’s Prince William, whose camp has already begun preparing the public for his reign by seeding stories with headlines like, “What Prince William’s modern monarchy will look like.” It’s not clear how he (and Kate, who’s allegedly had on-and-off-again beef with Meghan) will handle it, though it doesn’t seem like the answer will be “well.” Sky’s royal correspondent, Laura Bundock, said today that, “When it comes to Prince William, they are far from being in any sort of place where they feel reconciled with each other or [are] even speaking to each other.” That’s a feasible, if sad, place to be when you’re separated by an ocean and a continent, but a little bit harder if you’re going to be bumping into each other at family events every couple of weeks. According to the Guardian, former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt said he suspected Prince William’s reaction would be “apoplectic” before theorizing that a deliciously 16th century reality could emerge: “In the long term, the return of the Sussexes to the UK opens up the prospect of two rival courts, William’s and Harry’s.” Or maybe Harry’s return and attempt to re-ingratiate himself with his family while Charles is still around to bless the move will help ease the transition once William is in charge. 

In April, Meghan and Harry visited Australia and basically recreated their 2018 royal tour, but this time just as influencers and philanthropists. I wrote at the time that it “appeared to be a trial balloon to determine whether they can still command the respect that comes with the imprimatur of British royalty.” The couple was indeed received warmly by the Australian public, and the international English-language media was, of course, more skeptical—myself included. But it appears my skepticism was at least partially misplaced; whatever transpired on that trip, it certainly didn’t make the Sussexes think that moving back to the UK—and proximate to their old duties—was the worst idea.