Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will return to the United Kingdom, six years after stepping back from active royal duties and moving to the United States. It is understood that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will come home for a “prolonged period” and that their two children, the princes Archie and Lilibet, have already been enrolled in a British school. The family will settle in a residence that will not be owned by the Crown and will not perform royal duties.
King Charles did not know until Sunday, through his son, that he planned to return to the United Kingdom at the end of this month, while the Prince and Princess of Wales have also been informed. Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, will begin classes in September, but it has not been disclosed which school they will attend, nor the location of Harry and Meghan’s new home for privacy and security reasons.
This move marks the first time both children will attend a school in the United Kingdom. Archie was born in London in 2019 and spent his early years at the couple’s former home in Frogmore Cottage. This Windsor residence was a gift from the late Queen Elizabeth to Harry and Meghan. Lilibet, for her part, was born in California in 2021, after Harry and Meghan stepped back from their royal duties and moved to Montecito.
Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet have visited the United Kingdom only twice since the family moved to California. The Sussexes brought their children to England in 2022, when they returned for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, marking her 70 years on the throne. Their second visit took place this summer, when they met their grandparents Charles and Camilla at their residence at Highgrove House.
The possible schools for Archie and Lilibet
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been able to choose from a large number of prestigious private schools for their children. British media agree that it is unlikely they will send them to a full-time boarding school at their age. They also do not see it as likely that they enroll them at Lambrook, the school attended by William and Kate’s children. While George is about to enter Eton, their two younger children, Charlotte and Louis, continue to attend that school.
Meghan and Harry, with their daughter Lilibet.
The Ludgrove School is one of the strongest candidates. This institution, with a term cost of €16,875, was where young Prince Harry studied. At the time, the headteacher of the school made it his vital mission to ensure that both he and Prince William would enjoy total privacy from the press. And Charles and Diana’s former spokesperson, Dickie Arbiter, said that “Ludgrove was extremely effective at protecting him, and later Harry. It pulled him out of turbulent waters.”
Another possibility that has been strongly mentioned is the Bedales School. It would be a less traditional option, as it is co-educational, located in Hampshire, a county in the southeast of England, and could accommodate both Archie and Lilibet, since it admits children aged between 3 and 18. Among its former pupils are actors such as Daniel Day-Lewis and even royals like Lady Sarah Chatto. The cost per term ranges from €16,573 for day students to €21,399 for boarding.
“A strong endorsement of our education system”
Following the news of the Sussexes’ return home, Lucy Powell, the UK Government’s Education Secretary, has admitted that it is unlikely that Archie and Lilibet will attend a public school. But during her appearance on the BBC Breakfast program, the Labour education secretary insisted that her decision to educate her children in the country was “a strong endorsement of our education system.”
“We have excellent schools. We have a superb education system here, and it is one of the things that attracts people from all over the world, whether universities or our school system. It is clear that they want their children to be educated here and it is wonderful to see,” Powell added, who said she had learned of the Sussexes’ move through social media and the news, like everyone else.
