Harry and Meghan have returned to England; a new life begins

They were accompanied by their dogs, Mia and Pula, whilst the hens remain at the villa in Montecito, which has not been put up for sale.

The recent announcement of their return, which came as a surprise even to King Charles himself, has been addressed by the Royal Family, according to the BBC. The move marks a key step in the process of reconciliation between the monarch and his youngest son, following the tensions and friction of the past.

This followed Harry’s visit to the country last month, which included a private meeting at Highgrove with Charles III and Queen Camilla, extended to include the entire Sussex family: the monarch’s first in-person meeting since 2022 with his two grandsons, now former ‘Americans’. There will now be far more opportunities for shared moments, not least in light of Charles’s illness – he is still undergoing treatment for cancer despite the “positive trend” in his health – but also given the friction between the younger prince and the heir to the throne, William, against the backdrop of the frosty relationship between the two brothers.

Some are even suggesting the possibility that two rival courts might emerge – the official one and that of the Sussexes, who are not currently keen to resume active representative roles within the royal family.

Among the uncertainties, the issue of security detail for the dukes remains unresolved; on their arrival today, they were accompanied by their private security detail. For days now, various sources have been reporting on a likely reallocation of state protection as part of the security review requested by Harry at the time following the withdrawal of his automatic right to a security detail – following his falling-out with the Windsors – and which is now set to be based on an entirely new arrangement, under which the monarch’s second son will reside with his family in the country.

At present, however, no official announcement has been made by the government authorities responsible for taking the final decision. The Sussexes’ new life in Britain thus begins amidst the many voluntary initiatives Harry will have to manage across the Kingdom, Meghan’s increasingly likely return to the spotlight – with a role in Guy Ritchie’s series ‘The Gentlemen’, which is still under negotiation with Netflix – and with the financial burden of legal costs to be paid – the total amount of which is still unknown – following their defeat in the privacy infringement case against the publisher of *The Mail*, alongside other celebrity claimants such as Elton John and Liz Hurley.

Alessandro Carlini (ANSA)