Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are returning to UK - here's why, according to a royal expert

A number of royal experts have spoken out in light of the unexpected revelation that the Sussexes are set to make their long-awaited return to the UK - one of whom claimed she knows why.

The Telegraph broke the news last night (19 Aug) that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will relocate to the former's home country, and have already made plans for their children to attend British schools in September.

The decision comes six years after the couple resigned from their royal responsibilities - citing severe mistreatment from several senior royals, as well as the British tabloid press - and fled to the States.

There, they set up shop in Montecito, California, where their daughter, five-year-old Princess Lilibet, was born.

Now, both she and Prince Archie, seven, will move with their parents to a private, non-royal residence outside of London, and attend schools in the surrounding area.

The couple are bringing their children with them, to attend school in the UK (Instagram/@meghan)

Unsurprisingly, the announcement has sent shock waves through the UK media circuit, spurring royal experts to offer up their thoughts on the matter.

Amongst them is royal commentator Camilla Tominey, who is convinced that, while it may have appeared to the average citizen as though the couple had willingly burnt their bridges with the British monarchy, a return to the UK was always the plan for Meg and Haz.

In fact, she believes they've always understood the importance of making amends with the Royal Family if they hope to take on any official duties later down the line, perhaps as Harry's father, King Charles III, makes fewer public appearances.

"Note how they’re keeping their California pad, just in case," she wrote for The Telegraph. "Half in, half out: it’s what they’ve always wanted.

"No wonder they are not taking an official royal role."

Tominey added: "Far better to be able to cash in on your royal status without the 'men in grey' suits breathing down your brass neck."

Tominey has suggested a return was always part of their plan (Jonathan Brady-Pool/Getty Images)

She also cited the various projects Meghan and Harry undertook during their time in the US, many of which were arranged via Archewell Productions and As Ever, which yielded mixed success.

There was their 2023 Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, where they spilt the beans on the alleged 'bullying' they experienced while working as royals, and the Duchess's lifestyle show With Love, Meghan, during which she hosted her Hollywood pals at her home for lavish dinners and afternoon teas.

"And having failed to crack America, where better to do it than in the cradle of the crown," Tominey suggested, referring to the duo. "The place where millennium-old royalty meets the modern, Instagram age?

"Not to mention there being nowhere finer on earth to raise and educate two blood-born royals than in the place where tea, ermine, and line-of-succession 'math' reign supreme?

"Come to think of it - you wouldn’t be sent to the Tower for wondering whether this might have been the plan all along."

Tominey discussed the possible reason behind their return (Ollie Millington/Getty Images)

She scathingly warned, however: "Make no mistake, though, if it happens as advertised, this will be a humiliation for a pair about whom a hagiography was written, called Finding Freedom.

"We anxiously anticipate the follow-up book, Where’s the Spare?, inviting readers to pick Harry and Meghan out of chaotic London crowd scenes."

When it comes to the perks they could benefit from if they move back, Tominey also suggested on The Telegraph's in-house podcast that a huge amount hinges on the their children's needs.

"We know that they fought tooth and nail to get those children titles - not that it was ever in doubt that they were going to get them," she noted. "I think there was a debate over what they would be called. They, in turn, have not lost their titles.

"They have been accused of cashing in on their royal status, and we all know that they need to have those titles even though they don’t have full freedom to use them.

The couple fled the UK in 2020 (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

"But for the children now, as any respectable, proud, sharp-elbowed parent might, they need to position these children correctly."

Tominey urged: "They need to raise them and educate them correctly. But these children are significant members of the royal family, and they’ll have more status in the UK than they have in America.

"That’s for sure, so you can theorise it that way: that she’s not only being a supportive wife, but that the mama instincts have come back in."

Tyla contacted the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for comment.