The signs Prince Harry has been plotting his and Meghan’s return to the UK

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be moving back to the UK in a matter of weeks , after spending more than six years living in California after their dramatic exit from the Royal Family.

It is understood the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, along with their children, will be making the move back to Harry’s home country at the end of August, with Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, set to start the new school year in the UK in September.

The Sussexes are understood to have secured a private, non-royal home in Britain, although details of their new residence and the children's school have not been disclosed for security and privacy reasons.

And while some may be blindsided by the shocking news of Harry and Meghan’s return to the UK, there have been subtle signs from the Duke over the last few years that he may have been plotting the transatlantic move for quite some time.

Ahead of Remembrance Day last November, Harry penned an emotional letter expressing his love for his home country and the “things that make us British”. In the letter, he spoke of his pride at fighting for his country and warned how easy it is for veterans to be forgotten “once the uniform comes off”.

In a personal 647-word piece titled “The Bond, The Banter, The Bravery: What it means to be British – By Prince Harry ”, the duke acknowledges that although he 'currently' lives in the US, he reflects that "Britain is, and always will be, the country I proudly served and fought for".

He paid tribute to the "stoic spirit" of self-deprecation and humour of "us Brits" and fondly tells how the "banter of the mess, the clubhouse, the pub, the stands" are the "things that make us British", adding “I love it.”

Elsewhere in the essay, Harry - who undertook two front line tours of Afghanistan - called on people to remember “not only the fallen, but the living” who carry the “weight of war” and urges them to knock on veterans’ doors and “join them for a cuppa…or a pint” to hear their stories and “remind them their service still matters”.

Harry has been working on mending his fractured relationship with his estranged father King Charles for over a year, with him first publicly mentioning his desire to make amends in an interview with the BBC last May.

During the interview he said: "I would love reconciliation with my family. There's no point continuing to fight any more, life is precious," adding he wanted their rift to come to an end as he did "not know how much longer my father has” after his cancer diagnosis.

Elsewhere in the interview, he was asked whether he missed the UK, to which he replied: "I love my country, I always have done, despite what some people in that country have done... and I think that it's really quite sad that I won't be able to show my children my homeland."

Months after Harry’s candid comments, the Duke reunited with his father at Clarence House for a 55-minute private tea, marking their first face-to-face meeting in 19 months.