‘Rival courts’: Prince Harry’s surprise UK return may provoke royal spot of bother

Family relationships remain damaged and there is no clarity on how Sussexes’ security concerns have been resolved

Just as the departure of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’ from the UK six years ago came as a complete surprise, so too is their shock announcement they now intend to return.

Their unilateral decision could fairly be said to have blind-sided the royals. King Charles was only informed on Sunday and is said not to have been involved in the decision making. No mention was made when Harry, Meghan and their two children visited Charles at his private home, Highgrove, last month.

Yet in less than two weeks, the Sussexes will be installed in a private non-royal residence , somewhere outside London, with Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, already enrolled in British schools.

The reasons for this spectacular U-turn, which was simultaneously broken by four media outlets in the UK, US and Australia on Wednesday night, have not been spelled out. So, what has changed?

The couple left the UK amid accusations over media intrusion and attacks, especially on Meghan. Their relationships with senior royals – Charles and William in particular – was severely strained. They subsequently cited, in TV interviews and Harry’s memoir, Spare , the lack of palace support for Meghan. And their dreams of half-in-half-out royal roles had been firmly dashed by Queen Elizabeth II.

Six years on, such problems have not gone away – if anything they seem more firmly entrenched. In addition, they face the expensive headache of having lost taxpayer-funded security, which was afforded to them when they were working royals.

Relations with some sections of the British media are at an even lower ebb. Having successfully taken legal action against Mirror Group Newspapers as well as the publishers of the Sun and News of the World, Harry returns having just comprehensively lost his latest courtroom battle against the publishers of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday over unproven allegations of unlawful information gathering.

There appears to be some form of reconciliation with Charles, yet there were times over the past six years when, Harry has said, his father did not return his calls. Palace officials have been cautious throughout about private information leaking, given Harry’s willingness to talk so openly and so publicly.

While it is “great on a personal level” for Charles to have more private access to his younger son and grandchildren, it will “take a long time to establish a reasonable degree of trust”, said Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty Magazine . “People will still wonder: do Harry and Meghan have another media deal set up?

“It was six years plus in the fracturing. It’s not going to be a case of six weeks and everything is forgiven and forgotten. It’s going to be a lengthy process.”

The relationship with William presents an even more significant challenge, with the brothers now estranged. The former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt suggests William, the future king, would be “apoplectic” at the Sussexes’ return, and “rival courts” being established.

“If there is a rival court there is very little that anybody can do about it,” said Little, adding: “For mischief-making media, it’s a great headline story, this fractious relationship between William and his brother, and is it going to repair.”

Given no details, it is assumed that issues over security – which stuck so much in Harry’s craw he had said Meghan and their children could not visit the UK without Home Office-funded protection – is no longer the issue it was for the couple, who have funded their own in the US. The royals famously never comment on security, and the UK prime minister, Andy Burnham, would say only that it was a “private matter” for the couple, and would not be drawn on details.

The fact nothing of their return was mentioned to the king last month could indicate this was a speedy decision, and perhaps down to where the couple wanted their children to be educated.

Undoubtedly, Harry has missed the UK. In the US, while involved in deals with Netflix and Spotify, these seemed more Meghan-oriented projects. Harry was prominent when it came to his UK charities, in particular his beloved Invictus Games, which is delighted at news of his return.

Perhaps, as another former BBC royal correspondent, Jennie Bond, speculated, this time Meghan is “taking one for the team”.

The couple will retain their homes in California and Portugal. Meghan will continue to run her lifestyle brand As Ever from their new base. But in embarking on their new life, there will be undoubted teething problems. And as Little points out: “There are far more questions than answers.”