Ep. - 1696 - HARRY AND MEGHAN RETURN TO THE UK

The Amazing Kate Casey.

Welcome back for another episode of Reality Life with Kate Casey.

And I've got a great episode for you today because we are gonna discuss a huge moment in the news this week, the announcement that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are moving back to the United Kingdom.

Now, to understand why this moment matters, it helps to go back where it all started.

Harry and Meghan married in May of 2018 at Windsor Castle in a ceremony that was watched around the world, and there was real hope inside the institution that their marriage would modernize the monarchy and connect to a younger, more diverse audience.

But that hope did not last long.

There were reports of tension with other royals, which began almost immediately.

And by January of 2020, Harry and Meghan announced that they were stepping back as working royals, a move that the tabloids nicknamed Megxit.

In the years that have followed, the couple laid out their reasons publicly, in the Oprah Winfrey interview, in their Netflix docuseries, and also in Harry's memoir, Spare.

I have covered all of these.

They describe a palace that felt... was unwilling to protect Meghan from racist commentary in the press, indifferent to her mental health, and resistant to the idea of a mixed-race woman joining the family.

Harry also waged a long legal battle against British tabloids over phone hacking and privacy invasion, a fight that has cost him personally and financially, including a recent ruling that left him liable for publisher's legal fees.

So they left, and they settled in Montecito, California, in a gated estate not far from Oprah herself.

Over six years there, they built Archwell, signed deals with Netflix and Spotify, launched Meghan's lifestyle brand, As Ever, and largely stepped out of the royal spotlight while remaining very much in the entertainment spotlight.

Harry made occasional solo trips back to Britain, mostly tied to Invictus Games business and his ongoing legal cases.

But Meghan stayed away, and so did the children, Archie and Lilibet.

They had not set foot in the UK since Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

But that changed this summer.

In July, the whole family visited King Charles and Queen Camilla at Highgrove House, the first time the King had seen all four of them together in four years.

And now, just weeks later, multiple outlets are reporting that Harry, Meghan, and the kids are relocating to a private, non-royal residence outside London with Archie and Lilibet already enrolled in British schools for the September term.

Now, King Charles was reportedly only informed of the decision on Sunday, and the couple will not resume royal duties, and they are keeping the Montecito house, as well as their property in Portugal.

So this looks like less a permanent homecoming and more like an extended chapter.

And there are a lot of unanswered questions.

What happens with security? What this means for their relationship with William and Kate? Whether this is about reconciliation with Charles, about giving the kids a British childhood, or about repositioning themselves after a rocky stretch for their business ventures.

So today, I brought in Kinsey Schofield because she covers the royal family closely and consistently, and she's gonna help us make sense of what this move really signals.

And I want to say, this is exactly the kind of story that I love digging into.

I've spent years covering documentaries about the royal family, and I've interviewed a wide range of royal experts and journalists on this podcast.

For me, the royal family is essentially a complicated family business with its own succession politics, its own PR machine, and its own internal power struggles, and that's what makes this story so fascinating to unpack.

So I'm sure that you're joining me in wondering about so many of the questions behind this move, and I'm so glad that Kinsey is with me today.

Here is my interview with Kinsey Schofield.

The Amazing Kate Casey.

Welcome back for another episode of Reality Life with Kate Casey.

And I've got a great episode for you today because we are gonna discuss a huge moment in the news this week, the announcement that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are moving back to the United Kingdom.

Now, to understand why this moment matters, it helps to go back where it all started.

Harry and Meghan married in May of 2018 at Windsor Castle in a ceremony that was watched around the world, and there was real hope inside the institution that their marriage would modernize the monarchy and connect to a younger, more diverse audience.

But that hope did not last long.

There were reports of tension with other royals, which began almost immediately.

And by January of 2020, Harry and Meghan announced that they were stepping back as working royals, a move that the tabloids nicknamed Megxit.

In the years that have followed, the couple laid out their reasons publicly, in the Oprah Winfrey interview, in their Netflix docuseries, and also in Harry's memoir, Spare.

I have covered all of these.

They describe a palace that felt... was unwilling to protect Meghan from racist commentary in the press, indifferent to her mental health, and resistant to the idea of a mixed-race woman joining the family.

Harry also waged a long legal battle against British tabloids over phone hacking and privacy invasion, a fight that has cost him personally and financially, including a recent ruling that left him liable for publisher's legal fees.

So they left, and they settled in Montecito, California, in a gated estate not far from Oprah herself.

Over six years there, they built Archwell, signed deals with Netflix and Spotify, launched Meghan's lifestyle brand, As Ever, and largely stepped out of the royal spotlight while remaining very much in the entertainment spotlight.

Harry made occasional solo trips back to Britain, mostly tied to Invictus Games business and his ongoing legal cases.

But Meghan stayed away, and so did the children, Archie and Lilibet.

They had not set foot in the UK since Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

But that changed this summer.

In July, the whole family visited King Charles and Queen Camilla at Highgrove House, the first time the King had seen all four of them together in four years.

And now, just weeks later, multiple outlets are reporting that Harry, Meghan, and the kids are relocating to a private, non-royal residence outside London with Archie and Lilibet already enrolled in British schools for the September term.

Now, King Charles was reportedly only informed of the decision on Sunday, and the couple will not resume royal duties, and they are keeping the Montecito house, as well as their property in Portugal.

So this looks like less a permanent homecoming and more like an extended chapter.

And there are a lot of unanswered questions.

What happens with security? What this means for their relationship with William and Kate? Whether this is about reconciliation with Charles, about giving the kids a British childhood, or about repositioning themselves after a rocky stretch for their business ventures.

So today, I brought in Kinsey Schofield because she covers the royal family closely and consistently, and she's gonna help us make sense of what this move really signals.

And I want to say, this is exactly the kind of story that I love digging into.

I've spent years covering documentaries about the royal family, and I've interviewed a wide range of royal experts and journalists on this podcast.

For me, the royal family is essentially a complicated family business with its own succession politics, its own PR machine, and its own internal power struggles, and that's what makes this story so fascinating to unpack.

So I'm sure that you're joining me in wondering about so many of the questions behind this move, and I'm so glad that Kinsey is with me today.

Here is my interview with Kinsey Schofield.