A question looms over Harry's return to the UK. Can he rebuild his relationship with Prince William? - AP News

A question looms over Harry’s return to the UK. Can he rebuild his relationship with Prince William?

What to know about Prince Harry’s move back to Britain with Meghan and the kids

Britain’s Prince William and Britain’s Prince Harry walk beside each other after viewing the floral tributes for the late Queen Elizabeth II outside Windsor Castle, in Windsor, England on Sept. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)

Britain’s Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, speaks to The Associated Press after a roundtable about support for veterans, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Tourists walk at Buckingham Palace in London, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

LONDON (AP) — The royal family’s long-running American soap opera is returning to Britain. The question is whether it will blossom into a happy reunion or descend into anger, division and chaos.

Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, plan to return to the United Kingdom from California in a matter of weeks. They have already enrolled their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, in British schools so they can start the autumn term with their classmates.

News of the surprise decision, which broke late Wednesday in stories published by the Telegraph and Sun newspapers, has sparked widespread discussion about where the couple will live, who will pay for their security and whether they will return to royal duties one day.

But perhaps the most difficult issue is whether Harry can repair his once-close relationship with Prince William, the heir to the throne, which was decimated by Harry’s very public complaints of mistreatment at the hands of Buckingham Palace staff, racism in the royal family and the failings of the monarchy. There are also concerns that Harry and Meghan could try to upstage William and his wife Catherine, when they once again share the British stage.

“That will be something for the palace to deal with …” Craig Prescott, an expert on the U.K. constitution and the monarchy at Royal Holloway University of London, told The Associated Press. “They wouldn’t want Meghan and Harry’s presence in the U.K. here to overshadow the work of the monarchy, and there will have to be some discussion and allowance for that.”

Harry and Meghan wanted their children to grow up British

The couple are expected to live at a private, nonroyal residence outside of London and they won’t resume their royal duties, which they gave up when they moved to the exclusive Southern California community of Montecito six years ago, British media reported late Wednesday.

Their return to the U.K. comes as King Charles III, Harry’s 77-year-old father, continues to undergo treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer that was discovered in 2024. The prince said last year that he didn’t know “how much time my father has left,” and has expressed a desire for his children to have a chance to get to know their grandfather.

While Harry and Meghan’s decision is a surprise to many, royal historian Ed Owens said recent events created a pathway for the couple’s return.

First, Harry spoke of his desire for reconciliation, then there was the apparently successful meeting between the king, his younger son and daughter-in-law and their children last month at Charles’ Highgrove estate in western England. In addition, there is Harry’s stated desire for his children to grow up British and that the U.K. looks like a safer place to be right now, given the divisions in American society, said Owens, author of “After Elizabeth: Can the Monarchy Save Itself?”

Royal experts expect Charles to forgive Harry

Finally, Owens said he expects Charles to forgive Harry because as the supreme governor of the Church of England he has to demonstrate the teachings of Christianity, including the virtue of forgiveness.