By Michael Holden and Lisa Richwine
LONDON/LOS ANGELES, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Prince Harry and his wife Meghan plan to move back to Britain this month, six years after they quit royal duties and relocated to the U.S., from where they repeatedly criticised the royal family and lambasted the British press.
A person close to the couple said they would move from California to somewhere outside London for an extended period with their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, who will go to school
in Britain.
The surprise news marks the latest twist for a couple who railed against a string of British institutions after they left in 2020, with Harry accusing the royals of neglect, the tabloid press of ruining his life and the government of failing to provide enough security for him to ever return home.
King Charles, who media reports said welcomed having his youngest son and his family closer, only found out about the move on Sunday. Harry and Meghan will not live in a royal residence and will remain non-working royals, as agreed with the late Queen Elizabeth.
Harry's spokesperson and Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
COUPLE COMPLAINED ABOUT PRESS COVERAGE
Harry married Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle in 2018, and it was hoped his union with the former actor would reinvigorate the historic institution for a new generation.
But it was not long before cracks in their relationship with the rest of the royal family began to emerge. Two years later in March 2020, they announced they would step down from official duties and move to the U.S., saying they wanted to leave behind the "toxic" press scrutiny they faced in Britain.
They settled in the wealthy seaside enclave of Montecito, near Santa Barbara, California, with media reports putting the 2020 purchase price of their 16-bedroom home at $14.7 million, a property which they will keep.
In the following years, Harry, now 41, and Meghan, 45, repeatedly hit out at the royal family and the monarchy in TV interviews, a Netflix documentary series and, most notably, in Harry's memoir "Spare".
During a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan, whose mother is Black, said an unnamed member of the family had asked how dark their son Archie’s skin might be. Heir-to-the-throne Prince William, Harry's elder brother, responded by denying that Britain’s royals were racist.
Harry also had some particularly barbed comments for his father Charles, and William, leading to a total breakdown in their relationship.
He later criticised the British government after it changed his security arrangements and said the lack of automatic police protection meant he was unable to bring his children to Britain.
STRAINED FAMILY RELATIONS
But relations with the king, who is undergoing treatment for an unspecified cancer, appeared to be thawing in September, and father and son met briefly for the first time in 20 months.
Last month, Harry, Meghan and their children visited Britain, and Charles saw his grandchildren for the first time since 2022.
While Harry and the king's relationship might have improved, he is still barely on speaking terms with his brother.
Harry had always said he wanted his children to spend more time in Britain but a former senior royal aide said the return would pose challenges for everyone involved, adding that royals who try to forge private careers are often accused by critics of exploiting their position.
The former aide said the news would be particularly difficult for William and his wife Kate, after Harry and Meghan "dumped all over the institution, the members of the family, and the country from a great height for money".
Prime Minister Andy Burnham, asked if the taxpayer would fund their security needs, said it was a private matter for the couple and he wished them well.
COMMENTATOR SAYS THEY WILL PREPARE FOR MEDIA
Harry and Meghan embarked on several media ventures from their California home, signing multi-million-dollar deals with Spotify for a podcast series and with Netflix for programming including a lifestyle show hosted by Meghan.
The projects produced mixed results. Harry's tell-all book was a bestseller, but their podcast deal ended and Meghan's Netflix show was not renewed for a third season.
In recent months, Meghan, who has launched a lifestyle brand, has published an increasing number of photographs on her Instagram account, showing Harry and their children and their U.S. life, often taken from behind the children to hide their faces.
"They didn't achieve the superstar status they wanted," said Dominic Patten, executive editor of Hollywood publication Deadline.com, adding however that they had kept the public interested for a long time, which is not easy in a town full of big-name celebrities.
Royal commentator Afua Hagan said that interest would ramp up in Britain as they return, with newspapers wanting to know where they would live and where the children would go to school.
She said while they were essentially walking back in to the "lion's den" they were better prepared this time: "They're not bringing a knife to a gunfight. They know what they have to do, what they're going to come up against, and will prepare themselves better."
(Reporting by Kate Holton and Michael Holden in London and Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Dawn Chmielewski; Editing by Alex Richardson and Alison Williams)
