Prince Harry Hinted He Was Ready For A UK Return In 2025 & Everyone Missed It

News that Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, are making a move back across the pond to the U.K. has come as a surprise to many. Yet there may have been hints that Harry and Meghan would move back, and Megxit would be over once and for all. Back in September, Harry attended the WellChild Awards and may have let his intentions slip while chatting with an old friend.

"It was really sweet to see him after all these years," singer Joss Stone told Hello! about catching up with the duke at an event one year before he would make his surprising move back to his home country. According to her, "He ... asked about how we were settling back in and was genuinely interested in our move home," noting, "Maybe Harry will move back too. That would be nice." To most of us, this seemed pretty unlikely at the time, considering the bad blood between Harry and his family back home. Yet, while talking to Stone, Harry apparently expressed interest in life in the U.K. "He was saying how wonderful the schools are here and how important community is for children. It was nice to share that with him because it's exactly why we felt drawn to come back -– for the kids to grow up surrounded by family, friends, and a strong sense of belonging and, most importantly, in a safe environment," Stone explained.

From the sound of it, when Prince Harry got a chance to talk to a friend about it, he made it clear that he was already having thoughts about returning to the U.K. a year ago. Publicly, though, Harry was singing a different tune. A few months prior, he told BBC, "I can't see a world where I would be bringing my wife and kids back to the U.K. at this point."

Of course, quite a bit has transpired in just the past month that likely made Harry and Meghan Markle a bit more comfortable with the idea of an international move. The reunion saga finally came to a happy end, and Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet got to visit with King Charles III. Since then, it seems like the highly anticipated reunion went better than expected. So, perhaps mending fences with Charles made Harry and Meghan feel like they finally had the go-ahead to make the big move they'd been hoping for. Now, 7-year-old Archie and 5-year-old Lilibet are said to be attending school in the U.K. next month, just like Harry was seemingly hoping for late last year.