From royal exit to return: The story behind Harry and Meghan's Atlantic crossing

Six years after stepping down as working royals, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle are moving back to the United Kingdom within weeks, British press reported on Thursday.

In a surprise move, Harry, the youngest son of King Charles III, and his wife "plan to leave the United States by the end of the month to settle in a private, non-royal residence, which is said to be located outside London", The Telegraph reported.

Several UK news outlets, including the BBC, reported the couple's two children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, had already been enrolled in a British school for the start of the school year in early September.

It was reported that the couple had already chosen a new house, but that it would not be one of the many royal residences.

Harry and Meghan have lived in California since stepping down as working royals in 2020 and the children had not seen their grandfather Charles since 2022.

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Harry, 41, and Meghan, 45, left the UK for North America in 2020 amid a bitter feud with his family, which worsened as Harry published his tell-all memoir Spare.

A no-holds-barred interview with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey also deepened the rift.

The BBC said the 77-year-old Charles had been made aware on Sunday that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex planned to return to live in the UK.

The monarch welcomes the opportunity to see more of the Sussex family in a private and personal capacity, but there will be no expected change to the couple's official status, the BBC reported.

While no official reason for the move has been shared, the news comes only weeks after Harry and Meghan paid a short visit to the UK in early July with the children, during which they had a private meeting with Charles.

Harry said last year that he wanted to reconcile with his father, who was diagnosed two years ago with cancer and has been receiving treatment since. The type of cancer has never been revealed.

It was not immediately clear whether Harry's older brother and heir to the throne, Prince William, and his wife, Catherine, had been told of the news. The two brothers have become estranged and reportedly no longer talk.

The UK's Sun newspaper reported the couple would keep their Montecito home in California.