Prince Harry and family arrive back in UK: reports

Prince Harry and his family have arrived back in the United Kingdom, media reports say, days after it was revealed the couple were relocating six years after quitting royal duties and moving to the United States.

Last week, Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, surprised even their close family when it was disclosed that they would move back from Montecito, California to somewhere outside London for what was described as an extended period of time.

Their children, seven-year-old Prince Archie and five-year-old Princess Lilibet, will start school in the UK in September.

Precise details about where they will be based or the school the children will attend are being kept private.

However, they will not be living in a royal residence or carrying out official duties.

The BBC and Sky News reported they had landed in the UK after flying in from California privately on Wednesday, with the Daily Telegraph reporting their plane landed at Birmingham International Airport about noon.

The family were said to have travelled on a Bombardier Global Express XRS luxury long-range business jet for the overnight flight.

Flight tracking websites showed a private charter flight from Van Nuys, California, arrived at the airport at 11.56am.

A spokesman for the duke and duchess declined to comment on their travel movements, citing the importance of privacy and security.

Despite the lack of clarity surrounding the couple's return, the spokesman did however confirm that Harry and Meghan's brood of chickens would be staying in Montecito to be cared for there but that they were bringing their dogs Mia and Pula with them.

The couple left for the US in 2020, stepping down from official royal duties to chart independent careers, but they never left the headlines as Harry accused the royals of neglect, the tabloid press of ruining his life and the government of failing to provide enough security for him to ever return home.

King Charles only found out about their return days before the decision became public, and the couple will remain non-working royals, as was agreed with the late Queen Elizabeth.

Harry and his father's relationship has improved in recent months, with the Duke's family visiting the UK last month, allowing Charles to see his grandchildren for the first time since 2022.

But Harry is still barely on speaking terms with his brother, the heir-to-the-throne Prince William.