What to know about Prince Harry's move back to Britain with Meghan and the kids

Prince Harry is coming home to Britain and bringing his wife Meghan and their children for an extended stay that could help repair a rift with the royal family. The bombshell news comes six years after the couple's tumultuous decision to leave their roles as working members of the family, abandon the trappings of royalty and depart for America in a move that widened the gulf between Harry and his father, King Charles III, and older brother, Prince William, heir to the throne. It’s not clear what inspired the return and Harry refused to comment about the move to The during an event Wednesday night.

But the 41-year-old, who is fifth in the line to the throne, has recently expressed an interest in reconciliation so he could spend more time with his father, who is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer. Details of their return remain sketchy but the couple has already enrolled their children Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, at British schools and will start classes in September, a person close to the Sussexes who was not authorized to speak publicly told The . Here are some things to know about the return of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Harry and Meghan are not returning to royal life The family plans to live at a private, non-royal residence outside of London. They will maintain their home in the tony Southern California enclave of Montecito and their Portuguese vacation property in the resort of Costa Terra, south of the capital of Lisbon. The couple won’t resume roles as working royals, having abandoned that life to earn their living through lucrative contracts with Netflix, Spotify and other ventures.

Meghan will continue heading her As Ever company, which sells high-priced jams, tea and wine, from the U.K., while Harry can spend more time working with his British-based charities, a person close to the Sussexes said. King only learned of the move in the past few days Harry has only sporadically returned to the U.K. since his move, partly to pursue a series of lawsuits against the British tabloids with mixed results and unsuccessfully challenge the government's decision to strip him of his security detail. Visits to his father have been few and brief until recently.

Harry and Meghan and their kids visited the U.K. last month and spent time with Charles and Queen Camilla at Highgrove House, a country estate west of London. It was the first time the children had seen their grandfather since the late Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee in 2022. Charles, however, was only informed of the couple’s plans on Sunday, according to British news media.

Harry has made overtures to reconcile with his family and there has been a notable thaw recently in relations with Charles. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore,” Harry told the BBC last year. Harry and Meghan left their ties to the crown in tatters after a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey and a Netflix series that aired grievances that Buckingham Palace officials were insensitive to Meghan’s mental health.