Sussexes' UK return: Harry says family life is 'great' as Invictus Games and security questions loom

The Duke of Sussex has said it feels "great" to be back in Britain after six years of living in California, in remarks made to Canadian broadcaster CTV during a promotional visit to Canada. The Duke spoke to the network after taking part in a charity skydive near Toronto, an outing he said was organised to honour a promise he had made to a 102-year-old Second World War veteran and to draw attention to military charities.

In the interview, the Duke said the family's move back to the UK had allowed him to concentrate on what he described as his main focus: the Invictus Games, which he founded and which are due to take place in Birmingham in July next year. He added that the children were "happy in school", framing the return as a settled, ordinary chapter rather than a dramatic rupture.

The timeline of the Sussexes' departure and return has been one of the most closely watched stories in British royal reporting. Prince Harry and Meghan stepped back from their duties as senior working royals in 2020 and began a new life in the United States, a move that included starting a new business venture and raising their children away from the scrutiny of British media. The couple announced their intention to return to live in Britain last month, reversing the arrangement made roughly six years earlier.

Where exactly the family is now based has not been officially confirmed, but it is widely thought they have settled at a private property outside London, in the Cotswolds area of south-west England. That would place them within commuting distance of the capital while allowing a degree of privacy that is difficult to achieve closer to central London.

The practicalities of that return were complicated in the first weeks. The couple's children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, had to be transferred to a different school only days after starting at their new establishment. Reports indicated that the Sussexes' private security team had raised concerns about the distance of the journey and heavy traffic on the route to the school, prompting the sudden change.

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has largely remained out of the public eye since the family's relocation, making few public appearances. The Duchess has, however, offered occasional glimpses of family life through social media, including a post on Instagram showing her and the children back in England, described as a view of life after the Sussexes' return.

The Duke, by contrast, has been notably more active on the public stage, carrying out a series of engagements connected to the Invictus Games. Last week he visited a school in Birmingham to launch an educational programme inspired by the games, where he played pickleball with pupils and joined a science lesson on the design of prosthetic limbs.

The games themselves are scheduled to run in the city from 10 to 17 July next year. Organisers expect around 550 wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans from 25 nations to compete across 12 adaptive sports, a field deliberately designed to accommodate the physical and psychological injuries sustained in combat.

Asked directly what had prompted the family's return to the UK, the Duke said there were "lots of reasons", but he did not elaborate. The brevity of that answer is notable, given weeks of speculation about the move and about its possible connection to the strained relationship between the Duke and his father, King Charles, which has been widely reported since the Sussexes stepped down as senior working royals.

The Sussexes' return has also been accompanied by visible tension inside the Royal Family. The couple were reportedly surprised by a letter authorised by the King, which reiterated that they are private citizens and set out guidance for senior government and military figures on how they should be treated in their roles as members of the Royal Family. The letter was interpreted in some quarters as a formal correction of the status the Sussexes had enjoyed during their time in the US.

One of the most consequential unresolved questions is security. The Duke and Duchess are awaiting a decision on whether they will receive taxpayer-funded protection in the UK. The committee that oversees royal and VIP protection, Ravec, is set to reconsider the level of police protection the family receives now that they are full-time residents rather than visitors. Under previous arrangements, visits by working royals were typically met with limited police support on the basis that they were private individuals on holiday.

That distinction matters. A family living permanently in Britain, with children of school age and a high public profile, presents a materially different security question from a short royal visit. Whatever Ravec concludes will set a precedent for how the protection of non-working members of the Royal Family is funded and organised.

The choice of CTV for the interview is also telling. Speaking to a Canadian network during a Canadian charity engagement allowed the Duke to discuss military service and veterans' issues on neutral ground, away from the scrutiny that accompanies interviews given in Britain. Combined with the skydive, the appearance reinforced an image of a public figure whose post-royal work is rooted in armed services communities.

For now, the Duke's stated priority is the games. Whether the family's longer-term life in Britain takes shape as the Duke describes — settled, private and focused on Invictus — will depend on decisions that have not yet been made, most immediately the security ruling. If taxpayer-backed protection is extended, the family's Cotswolds base becomes a more permanent arrangement. If it is refused, a swift return to the US becomes far more likely, and the Duke's focus will necessarily shift back to activities that can be pursued from abroad.