“Opportunities,” Prince Harry said when GQ’s Zach Baron asked why he and Meghan had moved back to the UK. Then he explained. “Being able to put the kids in a British school meant a lot to me. I didn’t realise how important it was to me.”
The interview was filmed in New York and released on a Tuesday. Harry, 42, said a move this big would take a lot of planning for most families, and for his it had been “very short”. Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, had been in their new school for two weeks and, he said, were loving it. They had lived in Montecito, California, since 2020, and Harry called it “so important” for them to have two completely different cultural experiences.
Not a long-held plan
He wanted, too, to be closer to family, though he did not say whose. “To be back on UK soil for longer than a few days, or a week here or there.” He also wanted to show his children where he grew up. “This wasn’t something we’d planned for a long time. It’s something we thought about and considered, but for us, when certain stars align, then we lean into that.”
Friends have been part of the settling in. Harry spoke of “endless play dates” to help the children find their feet, and said it was good to be outside the US and let things settle down for a bit.
The family question
Speaking about reuniting with relatives, Harry said “some people don’t want it to work out”. It was read as a dig at his brother Prince William, to whom he has not spoken for four years. A Sussex spokesperson said the remark was “absolutely not intended as a swipe at his brother or any other member of his family” and was made in a general context.
HELLO! reported earlier that Harry has not met his father in person since arriving back in August, although they have talked by phone.
Life in the Cotswolds
The couple are believed to be living in a non-royal home in the Cotswolds, where Meghan shares occasional glimpses of country life on Instagram. The children’s first-choice school did not work out: they were pulled out after two days over security concerns. They are said to be happy at the new one.
Meghan has carried on with her As Ever lifestyle brand, adding a Christmas holiday collection and a homeware range that includes a jam plushie and a crockery set. Last week the Sussexes visited Nottingham, their first joint outing in the UK in six years, and took part in three quasi-royal engagements there.
