Prince Harry and Meghan are returning to the UK with their children

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have announced plans to return to the United Kingdom for an extended period beginning this fall, but they will not resume their roles as working members of the royal family, according to sources cited by The Associated Press. Their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, have already enrolled in British schools and will commence classes in September, as confirmed by a source close to the Sussexes who was not permitted to speak publicly.

The family intends to reside in a private non-royal residence outside of London, while retaining their homes in Montecito, California, and a vacation property in Portugal. The Daily Telegraph was the first to report this news. When confronted by the AP at a roundtable event with U.S. veterans in Washington, Harry remained silent when asked to comment on the reports.

Earlier, Prince Harry and Meghan had relinquished their royal duties and relocated to California several years ago to pursue lucrative contracts with Netflix and Spotify. Though relations with the rest of the royal family have deteriorated, Harry has expressed a desire for reconciliation so he could spend more time with his father, King Charles III, who is undergoing undisclosed cancer treatment.

Charles was notified of the couple's intentions on Sunday. Harry and Meghan visited the U.K. last month, and Buckingham Palace refrained from commenting on speculation regarding non-working royals.

Meghan will continue leading her company, As Ever, from the U.K., while Harry can devote more time to his work with U.K.-based charities. The couple's strained relationship with the royal family escalated following their decision to move to Montecito, where they criticized palace officials for being insensitive to Meghan's mental health and alleged that at least one member of the royal family made racist remarks when Meghan was pregnant.

Harry has engaged in a series of legal battles against British tabloid newspapers over alleged privacy violations, resulting in significant financial losses and a potential additional million-pound bill from the recent trial. Additionally, Harry has been involved in a legal conflict with the British government over security arrangements for his family in the U.K., which he claims are necessary due to inherent risks associated with being members of the royal family, regardless of their working status.

Last month, Harry returned to the U.K. for charity engagements, during which Meghan and their children were present. They spent time with King Charles at his Highgrove estate in western England, marking the first occasion Archie and Lilibet had seen their grandfather since the late Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee in 2022. While Harry has recently met with his father, there are no indications of improved relations with his brother, Prince William, the throne's heir.

Former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt suggested that the announcement would infuriate William, and that the prince's presence back home might hinder William's efforts to reconcile with Harry.