Prince Harry and Meghan's extraordinary UK return after Duke deemed UK 'too dangerous'

Prince Harry and Meghan's extraordinary UK return after Duke deemed UK 'too dangerous' Prince Harry and Meghan's planned return to live in the UK after six years in California comes just a year after the Duke of Sussex said he couldn't see a world in which he would return to his homeland Prince Harry and Meghan’s return to the UK is the latest extraordinary bombshell dropped by the Sussexes since they dramatically quit as working royals. Just six years ago, they headed to California after the dual life they wanted- earning their money in the US at the same time as supporting the monarch- was deemed untenable by the late Queen. And just 14 months ago, when Harry learned he had lost a Court of Appeal challenge over losing his automatic right to taxpayer-funded security in his homeland, he even said he couldn’t "see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK" and previously said it was "too dangerous". But in a remarkable turn of events, not only are the Sussexes setting up a home in a non-royal residence, thought to be outside of London, but they have enrolled their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in British schools. It comes just six weeks after Harry brought Meghan and his children to the UK for their first family visit together in four years, where they met the King at his Highgrove country retreat in Gloucestershire - and after years of firing off bitter allegations against the royals from the other side of the Atlantic. In 2021, in their infamous tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey while the late Prince Philip was in hospital during his final weeks, the couple claimed an unnamed royal had made a racist remark about unborn son Archie’s skin tone and accused the monarchy of failing to help a suicidal Meghan. It prompted Harry’s late grandmother Elizabeth II to say the issue raised would be dealt with privately, adding “some recollections may vary”. But the controversy didn’t stop there, and when they welcomed their daughter Lilibet Diana months later, a royal aide said the late Queen was “as angry as I’d ever seen her” following the Sussexes’ claim she gave her blessing for them to use her childhood nickname for their second child. Their railing against the Royal Family continued a year later with the release of their controversial Netflix documentary and Harry’s memoir, Spare, which overshadowed the start of the King’s reign. When it came to his brother, Harry dubbed Prince William his ‘archnemesis’ and claimed he knocked him to the floor and into a dog bowl after a row over Meghan boiled over. He also attacked his stepmother, Queen Camilla, calling her ‘dangerous’ and accused his relatives of a “horrible reaction” and not inviting him on a plane from London to Balmoral to see the late Queen on the day she died. Harry was at the Coronation of the King in 2023 - without his wife - but he spent less than 24 hours in the country. His legal battle against the Home Office over having his UK taxpayer-funded security reinstated was said to have driven a wedge between him and his father, who Harry claimed stopped taking his calls. And months later, when the King announced he had been diagnosed with cancer, Harry dashed to be at his side - but had just a 45-minute meeting with him at Clarence House. Recently, life in California has seen Harry take his dogs for walks on the beach, learn to surf, spend time with children and make sporadic appearances on US TV chat shows, while Meghan focused on her As Ever brand selling jam, wine and flower sprinkles. Their lucrative multi-million-pound Netflix deal, which they signed after quitting their royal roles, was watered down to a first-look deal after Meghan’s lifestyle show With Love, Meghan was panned by critics, and other projects failed to bring in viewers. A similar deal with Spotify was also axed in 2023 after one series of her Archetypes podcast, with one company executive branding them ‘grifters’. But in an interview with the BBC last May, Harry appeared to change tack, admitting he didn’t know how much time his father had left and saying: “There is no point in continuing to fight anymore; life is precious.” Last September, he had a meeting with the King at Clarence House for the first time in almost 20 months, while sources said Harry wanted “freedom to enjoy British summers, see friends and come and go without the ‘circus’.” Earlier this month, sources told the Mirror Harry was now determined to reconcile with his family and won’t do anything to jeopardise it amid a growing belief that he was placing far greater importance on repairing family ties than at any point since he and his wife Meghan. Harry is hoping to appear publicly with Charles at next year's Invictus Games in Birmingham, but it appears his father was blindsided by his son's decision - only learning about it on Sunday. However, there is little indication there will be such a reunion so far, with William as the warring brothers remain estranged.