The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are planning to move back to the UK, BBC News understands.

As first reported by the Daily Telegraph and the Sun, Prince Harry and Meghan intend to relocate from the US later this month to a private, non-royal residence outside London.

The couple’s children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, are enrolled to start at a British school in September.

King Charles was told of the move on Sunday. There are no current plans for either Prince Harry or Meghan to resume their roles as working Royals.

The Sussexes and their children visited the King at his Highgrove home in July this year, but it is understood the move was not discussed.

The BBC understands the King was unaware of the move before last weekend but he 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 official status of Prince Harry and Meghan and they will remain as private individuals.

Prince William and Princess Catherine have also been informed of their plans.

The couple’s move from California comes after they left the UK and royal duties in early 2020.

Family relations had been strained since, with July’s visit to the King and Queen Camilla being a key development in their relationship.

The Palace described the meeting at the King’s private home in Gloucestershire as a “private family occasion”.

It was the first time the King had seen his grandchildren in person in more than four years.

Prince Harry and Meghan had not been in the UK together since 2022, when they attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

Security for the couple has long been a point of tension, with the July visit being reconsidered because the duke’s request for police protection was rejected.

Last year, Prince Harry lost a legal challenge over the levels of security he and his family are entitled to while in the UK.

The duke had sought to overturn a decision that had downgraded his security after he stopped being a working royal and moved to the US with the Duchess.

After the announcement of the Sussexes’ intended return, a Home Office spokesperson said decisions on the security of royals were taken by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec), and the UK government’s protective security system was “rigorous and proportionate”.

Prince Harry had previously said that worries about safety have prevented him from coming to the UK and bringing his wife and children.

During his July visit the duke promoted his Invictus Games for injured service men and women, which will be hosted in Birmingham next year.

The visit was overshadowed by his High Court loss in a privacy case brought against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.

Prince Harry and several other well-known figures claimed the newspaper group used unlawful methods for getting information for stories, allegations which were strenuously denied by Associated Newspapers.

The duke has complained of press intrusion into his relationship with Meghan and told the court in January: “They’ve made my wife’s life an absolute misery.”

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