Prince Harry says return to U.K. was to be ‘closer to my family’
Prince Harry is opening up about his and wife Meghan Markle’s unexpected decision earlier this year to move back to the United Kingdom years after their dramatic fallout with the British royal family.
The Duke of Sussex spoke about the move in an interview with GQ’s Zach Baron, explaining that he and the duchess of Sussex returned to Britain for “opportunities for the family.” Prince Harry — promoting his session on grief with neuroscientist Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor for the MasterClass online platform — said the ability to put his and Meghan’s two children “in a British school has meant a lot to me” as was being “back closer to my family.”
“To be back on U.K. soil for longer than a few days or a week here or there,” he continued, “it’s nice to be back.”
Reports of Harry and Meghan’s return to the United Kingdom surfaced in August after the spouses made clear in 2020 that their departure was due to several factors, including severe scrutiny by the British media and alleged racism and bullying by the royal family. During the GQ interview, published Tuesday, Harry said he felt more confident and “optimistic” about returning to the U.K. and its tabloid scene, saying, “I can respect them if they respect me and our position.”
After Harry and Meghan separated themselves from the British family, they settled in California in the affluent neighborhood of Montecito. While in the United States, the pair took on a variety of media ventures — including a podcast, a television series and documentaries — under their multimedia company Archewell Productions. Memorably, Harry also penned his memoir, “Spare,” in 2023, providing readers a look at his family and his scathing view of the paparazzi. Subject to media scrutiny for nearly the entirety of his life, Harry told GQ, “I prefer me to be putting things out there rather than the machine creating stuff.”
“Why not try to be in control of your own story?” he added. “Because if they can’t be responsible enough to tell your story, then you have to tell your own story.”
Prince Harry also said in the interview he felt the stars aligned for his and Meghan’s return and that their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, had been “loving” their time attending British school. “It’s just giving them a whole different experience.”
As for his other family members, brother Prince William and father King Charles III, Prince Harry said, “I want it to work out.”
“Of course I do. Again, with everything else that’s going on in the world, the most important thing is to reconcile,” he said. “That’s the key point.”