Harry & Meghan Likely Won't Be Working Royals After Their UK Return: 'Implausible'

There had been no public indication that Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex would be leaving California to return to the U.K. after they left with a lot of drama back in 2020, but what had once seemed impossible is now reality. After the whole Sussex family visited with King Charles III privately in July 2026, it's been confirmed that the Sussexes are moving back to the U.K. in time for their kids to enroll in school for the fall. While they may be back in the country where Harry was born into royalty, it doesn't seem that the couple will return to being working royals. Even if the Sussexes wanted to, the ongoing feud between Prince Harry and William, Prince of Wales would seem to make that impossible for them.

An unnamed source told The Sunday Times about how Harry and Meghan's U.K. return will have to be navigated with the palace, and how a public working royal life is likely not an option for them. "It needs all sides to agree [to] a template for 'private royals plus,'" they said. "It needs them to be much more 'private' than 'working,' and be seen at family occasions, like Christmas at Sandringham."

But the source seemed to think that even side-by-side appearances with other royals could be a stretch. "That requires William and Catherine to say 'yes please' and how on earth does that happen? Just saying it out loud sounds implausible."

It does seem clear that there would have to be a major shift in the relationship between Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex and the seniors in the royal family to even consider a return to working royal life for Harry and Meghan. They seemingly left that life behind while living in the U.S. It could be that even if everyone was able to put their differences aside, Harry and Meghan would not be interested in resurrecting that role.

So we won't expect to see the Sussexes taking on much of a public role with the royal family while they're in the U.K. We don't even know how long they'll be staying. However, we could see Meghan returning to her acting roots. There have been talks that Meghan might be in Season 3 of the Netflix show "The Gentlemen," which films in England.

Before Meghan married Prince Harry, she was an actor, most known for her work on "Suits." It was her acting work that helped Meghan make her own fortune. She isn't in the same tier as the royals — Prince William is worth over $1 billion, per The Mirror — but she was reportedly a multimillionaire on her own. A new acting role would be something for Meghan to do while she's in the U.K., though of course, she's still a mom to two kids as well as the head of her lifestyle brand "As Ever." If she does get on "The Gentlemen," it would be her first return to Netflix after her lifestyle show "With Love, Meghan" was canceled after two seasons.