Prince Harry has finally spoken publicly about what life has been like since bringing Meghan Markle and their two children back to Britain — and he didn’t pretend the transition had been uneventful.
At his first major public appearance since the family’s return, the Duke of Sussex was asked how the past few weeks had gone.
His answer was just one word:
“Eventful.”
But Harry immediately added something considerably more revealing. Archie and Lilibet are in school, the family is settling into a routine, and, according to him, “We’re happy.” (The Standard)
The remarks came after a remarkable few weeks for Harry, Meghan and their children — a period that has included a transatlantic move, questions surrounding the children’s schooling and security, renewed tensions around the royal family, and Harry’s return to one of the causes that has defined his post-royal life.
Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lilibet Returned to Britain
The Sussex family’s move marked a dramatic reversal of the path they took six years earlier.
Harry and Meghan stepped back as senior working members of the royal family in 2020 and eventually established their home in California, where they raised Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
Then, on August 26, 2026, Harry, Meghan and the children returned to Britain with plans to spend an extended period in the U.K. Reuters reported at the time that the family would live outside London, while Archie and Lilibet were expected to attend school in Britain. (Reuters)
Their return does not mean Harry and Meghan have resumed their former roles as working royals. They remain outside the working royal family. (Reuters)
For the children, however, the move represents an enormous change.
Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, had spent most or all of their lives in California.
Now they were beginning school in their father’s home country.
Then Their First Weeks Became Complicated
The transition apparently didn’t unfold entirely smoothly.
British reports said concerns were raised by the Sussexes’ security team about the children’s initial school arrangements and school run. The children subsequently changed schools. (The Independent)
Some tabloid reports have added more dramatic claims about what triggered the change, but those details have not all been independently established. What Harry himself has now confirmed is simpler:
The children are in school.
And the family is happy.
That distinction matters because Harry’s own words provide the clearest public description of how he views the family’s current situation.
His First Major Night Back in the Spotlight
On September 17, Harry stepped out at London’s Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich for the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards.
It was his first public appearance since the family’s return.
He arrived smiling, greeted veterans and posed for photographs as he entered the black-tie event. The evening celebrated wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans, as well as people who have supported their recovery. (The Independent)
Meghan wasn’t beside him for the appearance.
But when Harry spoke about life away from the cameras, his wife and children were very much part of the conversation.
Asked about his first weeks back, he replied:
“The last two weeks have been… it’s been eventful.”
He continued by saying the family was getting back into work, the children were in school and they were happy. (The Standard)
For a family whose relocation has generated enormous speculation, it was a remarkably concise update.
‘It’s Great to Be Back on British Soil’
Harry also made his feelings about being home clear.
Speaking about his return and the upcoming Invictus Games, he said it was “great to be back on British soil.” (ITVX)
That comment carries particular weight considering how complicated Harry’s relationship with Britain has been since 2020.
He and Meghan have publicly criticized aspects of royal life and the British tabloid press. Harry has also spent years fighting over his security arrangements in Britain.
Yet Britain remains his birthplace, the country where he spent the first 35 years of his life and the place where he founded the Invictus Games in 2014.
Now his children are experiencing life there in an entirely different way.
Archie and Lilibet Have Largely Grown Up Away From Royal Life
Harry and Meghan have been notably protective of their children’s privacy.
Archie was born in May 2019, while Harry and Meghan were still working members of the royal family.
Lilibet arrived in California in June 2021, more than a year after her parents stepped away from senior royal duties.
The Sussexes have occasionally shared photographs and family glimpses, but they have generally avoided making their children regular fixtures at public events.
Meghan has described Archie and Lilibet as “very chatty, sweet children” and has spoken about how much she enjoys motherhood.
Harry’s Relationship With His Children Has Been Shaped by His Own Childhood
Harry has frequently connected his approach to parenting with his own experiences growing up.
His mother, Princess Diana, died in 1997 when Harry was 12.
In later interviews and in his memoir Spare, he described the profound effect that loss had on him.
When discussing his children in 2023, Harry said he deliberately gives them enormous amounts of affection, explaining that he wanted to approach parenting differently in light of experiences from his own childhood.
That history makes the family’s return to Britain particularly layered.
Archie and Lilibet aren’t simply changing countries.
They’re spending more of their childhood in the country where their father grew up.
But This Isn’t a Return to Harry’s Old Royal Life
The distinction is important.
Harry has returned to Britain.
That does not mean Prince Harry has returned to his former position inside the monarchy.
Reuters reported when the family came back in August that they would not resume official royal duties and would not live in a royal residence. (Reuters)
So the life Harry is building in Britain is fundamentally different from the one he left.
There are no plans announced for Meghan to resume royal engagements.
Harry isn’t representing the King.
Their children aren’t being introduced into a schedule of royal appearances.
Instead, Harry’s public work continues to center heavily on his own organizations and long-standing charitable commitments.
And few projects matter to him more than Invictus.
Invictus Has Followed Harry Through Every Chapter
Harry founded the Invictus Games in 2014 after his own decade of military service, which included two deployments to Afghanistan.
The international sporting event was created for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans.
Unlike many of Harry’s former royal patronages, Invictus remained closely associated with him after he stepped back from royal duties.
The September 17 Spirit Awards celebrated people across that community, and the inaugural event raised more than £1.6 million for Invictus recovery programs, according to Forces News.
Harry told veterans that although they might no longer wear a uniform, they still lead through the way they respond to adversity and help others. (ITVX)
Then, the next morning, he was off to Birmingham.
His Next Stop Was a School
On September 18, Harry visited Ninestiles Secondary School in Birmingham to launch a new Invictus education program.
The initiative was developed with schools and colleges across the West Midlands ahead of the 2027 Invictus Games, which Birmingham will host. (ITVX)
The atmosphere was considerably more relaxed than the previous evening’s black-tie dinner.
Harry spoke with pupils.
He met former Invictus competitors.
He learned about students’ work involving adaptive prosthetics.
And then he played pickleball.
The sport will make its Invictus debut at the Birmingham Games. (ITVX)
The Casual Appearance Showed a Very Different Harry
The contrast between the two appearances was striking.
At Greenwich, Harry wore black tie and addressed a room full of veterans and supporters.
In Birmingham, he wore a black polo shirt and interacted with schoolchildren inside a gym.
There were basketball hoops overhead and students gathered around him.
At one point he stretched out his hand toward a young participant.
It was the kind of engagement that looked far closer to the public-facing work Harry did for years as a working royal — except this time he was there entirely in connection with Invictus.
And his comments made clear that Birmingham is already central to his plans for the coming year.
Birmingham Will Host the 2027 Invictus Games
The next Invictus Games will take place in Birmingham in 2027.
Harry told ITV that he was looking forward to returning for them. (ITVX)
The Birmingham Games will bring competitors from multiple nations to Britain and give Harry another major public role in the country where Invictus began.
That means his U.K. return isn’t merely personal.
His most prominent charitable project is also returning to Britain.
For Harry, the two stories are unfolding simultaneously.
His children are settling into British school life while he prepares for one of Invictus’ biggest homecomings.
Meghan Hasn’t Joined Harry at These Public Appearances
One noticeable part of Harry’s first engagements has been Meghan’s absence.
She did not accompany him to the Spirit Awards.
She also wasn’t beside him during the Birmingham school visit.
But her absence from those appearances shouldn’t automatically be interpreted as evidence of a problem between the couple.
Harry explicitly included Meghan when describing the family as happy, while reporting around the move has indicated that much of their immediate focus has been on getting Archie and Lilibet settled. (People.com)
The family has only been back in Britain for a matter of weeks.
Their public schedule may therefore look very different from their private one.
The Return Comes Six Years After Their Dramatic Exit
It’s difficult to understand the significance of Harry’s words without remembering what happened in 2020.
Harry and Meghan announced that they intended to step back from their roles as senior members of the royal family.
They ultimately moved to North America.
The couple established a home in Montecito, California, and built an independent life involving media projects, charitable work and commercial ventures.
For years, that appeared to be their long-term home.
Britain became somewhere Harry visited rather than where he lived.
That’s why the family’s August 2026 return attracted so much attention.
Reuters described it as a return from the U.S. after the family had spent years based in California. (Reuters)
His Royal Relationships Remain Complicated
Moving geographically closer to Harry’s relatives doesn’t automatically mean the long-running family tensions have disappeared.
Harry’s relationship with his father, King Charles III, and especially his brother, Prince William, has been the subject of years of public reporting.
Reuters reported in August that Harry remained estranged from William, while his relationship with Charles had shown signs of improvement. (Reuters)
At the same time, the royal family has been confronting renewed scrutiny surrounding Princess Diana following claims in Charles Spencer’s new memoir.
Harry was asked about his uncle’s book during his latest appearance but did not publicly engage with the controversy. (The Sun)
That restraint is notable.
His first public comments after returning weren’t focused on the royal feud.
They were focused on his family and Invictus.
And That Makes His One-Word Description Even More Interesting
“Eventful” can cover quite a lot.
A move across an ocean.
Two young children starting school.
Reported security concerns.
Changing routines.
Returning to public engagements.
Preparing for Invictus.
And doing all of it while every development involving the Sussex family attracts enormous international attention.
Harry could have characterized the return as difficult.
He could have called it exciting.
Instead, he chose something that acknowledged the chaos without defining the experience negatively:
Eventful.
Then he followed it with the sentence that probably says more than the headline-grabbing word itself.
“We’re happy.” (The Standard)
This Is a Different Kind of Homecoming
Prince Harry isn’t returning to the Britain he left in 2020.
He isn’t returning as a senior working royal.
Meghan isn’t returning to resume duchess duties on behalf of the monarchy.
Archie and Lilibet aren’t entering the same childhood their father experienced behind palace walls.
Instead, the Sussexes appear to be attempting something they haven’t done before: building an independent family life in Britain while remaining outside the working monarchy.
For Harry, that means taking his children to the country where he grew up while continuing the work he chose to keep after leaving royal life.
For Archie and Lilibet, it means discovering Britain not simply as the place where their father was born, but as home.
And after six years in California, a transatlantic move and an unexpectedly complicated first few weeks, Harry’s assessment of this new chapter remains remarkably simple.
It’s been “eventful.”
But, he says, they’re happy. (The Standard)
For more heartwarming stories about celebrity families, check out how ’90s Heartthrob Freddie Prinze Jr. Is 50, a Devoted Dad and Still Married to the TV Icon He Met Nearly 30 Years Ago or read about Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas’ Rarely Seen Daughter Stella Steps Out at 29.
