Prince Harry has revealed he would like to take his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, to the United Kingdom following his recent reunion with his father, King Charles.
During his trip to Ukraine, the Duke of Sussex, 41, said he’d like to return to his homeland with his 6-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter, whom he shares with wife Meghan Markle, 44.
“Yes, I would. This week has definitely brought that closer,” Harry said when asked if he would like to bring his children back, despite ongoing issues surrounding his security arrangements.
His comments mark a shift from May, when he previously stated he couldn’t “see a world” in which he would bring his wife and children to Britain after losing his legal appeal against the government’s decision to strip him of automatic police protection.
“They’re going to miss, well, everything,” Harry continued, reflecting on what Archie and Lilibet might lose by growing up away from the U.K. “I love my country. I always have done. Despite what some people in that country have done.”
Harry’s security status was downgraded in 2020, five years ago, when he stepped back from royal duties — a decision that continues to complicate his relationship with Britain.
““I miss the U.K., I miss parts of the U.K., of course I do,” Prince Harry said. “I think that it’s really quite sad that I won’t be able to show my children my homeland.”
The Duke of Sussex is now back in California following his recent trip to Britain, where he visited several charities close to his heart, gave a speech at the WellChild Awards, and shared a private tea with his father, King Charles, whom he had not seen for 19 months.
Harry last saw the King in February 2024, shortly after Charles revealed he was undergoing treatment for an undisclosed cancer. During their latest meeting, Harry was pictured arriving at Clarence House in London on September 10. He stayed for just under an hour before departing.
Though he did not speak in detail about his father, Harry suggested he hopes their reunion will not be a one-off. “Over the coming year, the focus really has to be on my dad,” he said.
He added, “I have always loved the U.K. and I always will. It’s been good to reconnect with the causes I am passionate about and spend time with people I have known for so long. It is hard to do it from far away.”
The father and son’s reunion was a landmark moment for the pair. Those close to the duke have told PEOPLE that the King had previously not been taking his calls, and any messages were left unanswered. Meghan Markle with her two children Archie and Lilibet ; Prince Harry with his son Archie.
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Earlier this year, Harry expressed his desire to begin steps towards a rapprochement, telling BBC News in May that he would love “reconciliation.”
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Harry mentioned his much-talked-about book — in which he famously opened up about life in the royal spotlight — in his interview with The Guardian, telling the paper, “I know that [speaking out] annoys some people and it goes against the narrative. The book? It was a series of corrections to stories already out there. One point of view had been put out, and it needed to be corrected.”
“I don’t believe that I aired my dirty laundry in public. It was a difficult message, but I did it in the best way possible. My conscience is clear,” the Duke of Sussex continued of Spare.
As for being called stubborn, Harry insisted, “It’s not stubbornness, it is having principles … It is not about revenge, it is about accountability,” adding that in life, “you cannot have reconciliation before you have truth.”
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