Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to establish a new base in Britain has intensified scrutiny of the royal family, with biographers and commentators saying the Duke of Sussex's proximity to Prince William could make their yearslong estrangement increasingly difficult for the monarchy to ignore.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived in Britain on Aug. 26 with Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, and are setting up residence at a private property outside London. The family is expected to retain its home in Montecito, Calif., and neither Harry nor Meghan is expected to return to working-royal duties.
The move nonetheless changes the practical dynamics surrounding the family dispute. Archie and Lilibet are reportedly preparing to attend a local British school, giving the Sussexes a more sustained presence in the country than they have maintained since stepping away from official royal life in 2020.
Andrew Morton, the biographer of Princess Diana, told Vanity Fair that the move has "changed the narrative" around the royal family. The shift, he suggested, places more attention on whether the long-running rupture between Harry and William can continue unchanged now that the brothers are again living in the same country.
Royal biographer Katie Nicholl told Hello! magazine that Harry's return effectively leaves William "over a barrel" on the issue of reconciliation. Nicholl has separately said the Prince and Princess of Wales were likely "blindsided" by the Sussexes' return.
Harry and William are not believed to have spoken directly since the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. Both attended the funeral of Lord Robert Fellowes in 2024, but people present said the brothers did not speak to one another.
Morton said the tensions between them predate Meghan's arrival in the royal family and included disagreements over charitable work and relatively minor issues involving their residences. He claimed William was "fuming" over the latest development and said public expectations could increasingly shift toward the Prince of Wales to take the initiative in repairing the relationship.
Morton nevertheless said any genuine reconciliation remains "some way off," underscoring how deeply entrenched the dispute has become despite the Sussexes' physical return to Britain.
An unnamed source quoted by Vanity Fair described William and Catherine as having been "derailed" by the change and said there is "a sense" that William may now feel compelled to watch Harry's next moves more closely. Those assertions have not been independently confirmed.
The heightened attention comes as William and Catherine manage significant developments within their own family. Catherine said in January 2025 that she was in remission following her cancer diagnosis, while Kensington Palace has confirmed that Prince George, 13, will begin attending Eton College in September.
King Charles III appears to be approaching Harry's return differently. Buckingham Palace confirmed that Charles and Queen Camilla hosted the Sussexes for a private family gathering at Highgrove in July, and a Vanity Fair source said the King is "genuinely happy" to have more opportunities to spend time with Archie and Lilibet.
That does not mean the broader disputes surrounding Harry have disappeared. The same Vanity Fair source said Charles "dreads" the continuing disagreement over the Duke's security arrangements in Britain.
Harry's principal judicial-review appeal over the 2020 decision by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures, known as RAVEC, was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on May 2, 2025. The current situation involves a renewed security review and continuing correspondence rather than an active appeal in that case.
