Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are preparing to return to Britain with their children for an extended stay — but they aren’t giving up their California home.
On The Move
Roughly six years after stepping back from senior royal duties and leaving the U.K., the couple plans to relocate with Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, the New York Post’s Page Six reported.
The children are expected to begin school in Britain in September and the family is expected to live in a private, non-royal residence, with the location of their home and the children’s school being closely guarded.
The move does not mean Harry and Meghan are giving up their life and business ventures in California.
Meghan, whose net worth is estimated at $60 million, and Harry initially signed a reported five-year, $100 million production deal with Netflix in 2020, but that agreement expired in 2025. The couple subsequently secured a new multi-year first-look deal with Netflix. Their reported $18 million Spotify partnership, meanwhile, ended in 2023 after one season of Meghan’s “Archetypes” podcast.
The Sussexes purchased their Montecito estate, known as Riven Rock, for a reported $14.65 million in 2020.
The roughly 18,000-square-foot property includes nine bedrooms, 16 bathrooms, an elevator, a chef’s kitchen, a billiard room, a gym, a wine cellar and a spa. The grounds feature a tennis court, swimming pool, tea house, rose gardens and a chicken coop.
The estate also includes a separate two-bedroom guesthouse and office space with a soundproof recording studio.
Harry and Meghan plan to keep the property, TMZ reported, saying there are “no plans at all” to sell it and that reports suggesting otherwise are “not accurate.”
Their move to Britain therefore appears to represent a second base rather than a permanent departure from California.
In December 2019, they moved to Vancouver Island, Canada, where they stayed for several months. Harry and Meghan left Canada for California in March 2020, initially staying at Tyler Perry’s Beverly Hills home before purchasing their Montecito estate in July 2020
Their decision to return to Britain also comes at a pivotal moment for their children.
Harry has previously described Britain as “central to the heritage of my children and a place I want them to feel at home as much as where they live at the moment in the U.S.,” according to The New York Times.
Royal historian Ed Owens told The New York Times, “They want their children to grow up as British citizens as much as Americans.”
Owens said Harry and Meghan want Archie and Lilibet to experience the “tradition, culture, history, heritage of their father’s country.” He also cautioned that “there are other factors at play here.”
Harry’s father, King Charles III, is also battling cancer. Their relationship has reportedly been strained over the last few years. But it has shown signs of improvement in recently.
In February 2024, Harry flew to Britain shortly after Buckingham Palace announced that Charles had been diagnosed with cancer. He met privately with his father at Clarence House.
“The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him, I’m grateful for that,” Harry later told “Good Morning America.” He also said he “love[s] my family.”
Harry’s concerns about his father’s health remained evident in a 2025 BBC interview, when he said, “I don’t know how much longer my father has,” according to The New York Times.
Harry also met privately with Charles for tea in 2025, which The New York Times described as an apparent first step toward repairing their relationship.
The move, however, does not appear to signal a full reconciliation with the rest of the royal family.
Prince William remains estranged from his younger brother, with Page Six reporting that an insider said William is “still refusing to talk to his younger brother” and that the brothers remain “on the outs.”
