Prince Harry Is Reportedly in a “Different Headspace” to “Where He Was Before” About This Subject Amidst U.K. Return
Prince Harry Is Reportedly in a “Different Headspace” to “Where He Was Before” About This Subject Amidst U.K. Return
Rachel BurchfieldSun, September 6, 2026 at 3:36 PM UTC
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Prince Harry in Washington, D.C. on March 31, 2026.Credit: GettyThe Gist -
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet are said to be “excited about being back” in the U.K.
The family of four arrived in late August after six years away, and a friend speaking to The Sunday Times said they are still “getting over the jet lag.”
Harry, for his part, is in a “different headspace” to “where he was before” about this particular topic amid his move back to his home country.
When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back from their working royal roles in 2020 and moved to the U.S., they announced they would “no longer participate in the royal roya system” of print and broadcast outlets that pool coverage of the royal family’s public-facing work, The Sunday Times reported.
But, according to the outlet, at least when it comes to Harry, “that stance has since softened.” Select royal rota reports have been granted access to the Duke of Sussex’s engagements when he has returned to the U.K. over the past six years, with a source telling the outlet, “He is in a different headspace to where he was before.”
Prince Harry in London on January 21, 2026.Credit: Getty
Harry, Meghan, and their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet have officially moved back to the U.K. after six years living in Montecito, California. The duke and duchess will not be returning to their working royal roles, but The Sunday Times reported that Meghan could be agreeable to “rekindling” her relationships with U.K. charities, even allowing herself to be “photographed and publicized doing so.”
When Meghan married into the royal family in 2018, she took on four patronages—with the animal welfare charity Mayhew; with the National Theatre, which made sense considering her prior career in acting; The Association of Commonwealth Universities; and Smart Works, a charity that helps unemployed women gain the confidence, skills, and clothes they need to secure a job. Smart Works is the only one of the aforementioned four organizations that Meghan is still connected to, and the charity told Hello! that it is “very excited to welcome the duchess and her family back to the U.K.”
Meghan Markle working with Smart Works on January 10, 2019.Credit: Getty
The Sunday Times reported that Harry, Meghan, and their team will create a new “framework that is fair” for media access to appearances and coverage of their public work—which could include Meghan reuniting on the public stage with Smart Works. In 2019, she created a capsule collection with fashion outlets like Jigsaw, John Lewis, and Marks & Spencer to benefit the organization.
“She is thinking about plans for how she can get more involved and support the causes she was supporting and was passionate about again, and new causes, too,” a source told The Sunday Times of Meghan. “She wants to pick up with a lot of people.”
Of Smart Works specifically, the source said that the organization “is a cause she was and remains deeply passionate about, and she may well look to rekindle that relationship, where she can get back involved in a more meaningful way now that she’s back here. There are still things she is working on back in Los Angeles that she is committed to—she is no less committed to her work and causes there because she is here.”
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Meghan Markle at the launch of her Smart Works capsule collection in 2019.Credit: Getty Images
Friends say Harry and Meghan are “excited about being back” in the U.K., and are keeping a low profile at present as they transition Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, into a new school.
“They are still unpacking at home and getting over the jet lag,” a friend said. “They’re buying school uniform and trying to buy pencil cases without being spotted. They wanted to come back—they’re excited about being back and everything that’s to come.”
“There are a lot of things to arrange,” a source speaking to The Sun said. “Meghan is totally focused on getting the kids settled for now.”
Meghan Markle on September 20, 2025.Credit: Getty
In addition to potentially reconnecting with charities she supported during her time in the U.K., a possible acting return has also been discussed, and Meghan is expected to continue running her lifestyle brand, As Ever, from Britain. “Stuff comes across the desk every day of the week,” an insider told The Sunday Times. “Some things we look at, other things fizzle out.”
Harry, for his part, will continue working with a number of causes he championed as a working royal, like WellChild and his Invictus Games, which he founded in 2014.
Prince Harry in Birmingham, England on July 10, 2026.Credit: Getty
Sources close to King Charles—who is expected to be at Balmoral off-and-on until mid-October—told The Sunday Times that he monarch “naturally welcomes” the opportunity to see the Sussex family of four “in a private and personal capacity.” They added that the king is “clear” that there will be no change to their status as non-working royals, even though they are back in the United Kingdom for an undetermined period of time.
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