LONDON – Prince Harry and his family have returned to the UK in a shock move back from the United States following a bitter rift within the royal family that exploded publicly in 2020.

The relocation could herald a wider reconciliation after their six years of self-imposed exile, but many questions remain unclear.

Here are the key moments of the royal dispute:

The cracks begin to show

One year after Prince Harry and Californian actress Meghan Markle tied the knot in 2019, the first clouds began to gather.

The couple sued several British tabloids for invasion of privacy. In a documentary broadcast on British channel ITV, Harry spoke of tensions with his brother Prince William, while Meghan discussed the difficulties she had coping with the pressure of joining the royal family.

The split

On 8 January 2020, Harry and Meghan, who were given the titles duke and duchess of Sussex by Queen Elizabeth II on their wedding day, announced on Instagram that they wanted to step back from most of their royal duties.

They revealed they intended to divide their time between the UK and North America and become financially independent. Queen Elizabeth refused the arrangement as proposed.

An eventual agreement meant they could no longer use their Royal Highness (HRH) titles and they lost the police protection and public funding they had enjoyed as members of the royal family.

They moved briefly to Vancouver, Canada, before buying a house in Montecito, California. They signed multi-year deals with media platforms Netflix and Spotify worth millions of dollars.

The Oprah interview and fallout

On 7 March 2021, an explosive interview with American talk show queen Oprah Winfrey aired, in which Meghan said she had contemplated suicide after joining the royal family.

The couple also claimed that a member of the family raised a question about the skin colour of their son before he was born, as Meghan is mixed-race. The palace did not comment, but the interview further damaged hopes for mending ties.

In September that year, Harry initiated legal proceedings in connection with the loss of his police protection in the UK.

The queen dies

Queen Elizabeth II died on 8 September 2022. Harry travelled to Scotland alone, after the rest of the royal family, because he was not immediately notified.

Two days later, William and his wife Catherine, Harry and Meghan went together to greet the public in Windsor, trying to project an image of unity after the death of the sovereign, but the two couples barely spoke to each other.

In December that year, Netflix released the documentary “Harry & Meghan”, in which the couple continued their criticism of the royal family, with Harry accusing them of failing to protect his wife.

Tell-all memoir

On 10 January 2023, Harry published his tell-all memoir, “Spare”, a global bestseller, in which he recounted his childhood, settled scores with William and criticised his sister-in-law Catherine and his stepmother Camilla.

He launched a new lawsuit against British tabloid newspapers for illegal wiretapping.

Signs of reconciliation

On 5 February 2024, Harry crossed the Atlantic to visit his father after learning that the king was suffering from cancer, for which he is still undergoing treatment.

However, on 2 May 2025, Harry lost his UK appeal to regain police protection. After the blow, he told the BBC that he wanted to reconcile with his family but that his father (76) was no longer speaking to him.

On 10 September that year, the prince met his father for the first time since 2024, ending a 19-month estrangement.

The return home

On 6 July this year, Harry arrived in Britain for a five-day visit hit by multiple snags as his family was refused police protection and Buckingham Palace clashed with Harry’s spokesperson about living arrangements.

During the visit, the prince and his family met King Charles and Camilla – the first meeting between the monarch and his two grandchildren in four years, according to UK media.

On 19 August, British press first reported that Harry and his family were set to relocate back to the UK.

On 26 August, Harry and his family arrived in Birmingham, amid media reports that his children had been enrolled in a school and the family was planning to stay outside London in the Cotswolds region of central England.

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