Prince Harry deeply misses his UK life and royal role, sources say

Prince Harry will always have a soft spot for his home country, even as he continues to navigate life in America.

The claim was made by Dan Wakeford, founder of the weekly pop-culture newsletter Celebrity Intelligence. A veteran celebrity media editor, Wakeford previously led People, Entertainment Weekly and Us Weekly.

Wakeford told Fox News Digital that, according to sources who spoke with Celebrity Intelligence, the Duke of Sussex continues to greatly miss the U.K. and the role he once held there as he tries to carve out a meaningful role for himself in California.

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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex departs from The Invictus Games Foundation Conversation: From Policy to Practice at Chatham House on July 7, 2026, in London. Multiple royal experts told Fox News Digital that there’s no doubt King Charles’ younger son misses his life in the U.K. (Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images)

“Harry particularly doesn’t love the life he has in America,” Wakeford said. “He misses his family, his friends and his former existence in the U.K. Sources say he would be content to downsize and have a smaller life instead of living on such a grand scale, but I think that is more Meghan [Markle]’s [style].”

Archewell, which handles the offices of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, told Fox News Digital, “It’s all unfounded speculation, of which we don’t comment.”

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, arrive at the Australian National Veterans Arts Museum in Melbourne, Australia, on April 14, 2026, where they were greeted by a large media presence. (Josh Stanyer/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images)

While Wakeford described Harry as longing for aspects of his former life in Britain, the duke recently took a step toward reconnecting with his family.

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On July 10, Harry, Meghan and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, met with King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Highgrove House, Buckingham Palace confirmed. Fox News Digital reached out to the palace and Archewell for comment.

The family gathering came after Harry arrived in the U.K. on July 6 for several charity events that were overshadowed by speculation about whether he would meet with his father.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are raising their two young children in California. (Jonathan Brady-Pool/Getty Images)

The meeting marked the first time in years that King Charles had hosted Harry and his family, amid a rift that began after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back as senior royals and moved to California in 2020.

Highgrove House, the king’s private residence, in Doughton, Gloucestershire. (Neil Bennett/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)

“I think it’s important to make the point that Harry’s marriage is a happy one,” royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told Fox News Digital.

“The problem is that Harry is without a proper role. He has the Invictus Games, yes, but I do think he misses aspects of life in the U.K. and the friends he has kept there. He has charities he supports there, and his mother is buried there. While he had a difficult week during his visit, the meeting with the king and his family was a positive.”

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, attends the Invictus “1 Year To Go” event at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England, on July 10, 2026. (Samir Hussein/WireImage)

“Seeing the ‘good ol’ Harry’ playing wheelchair rugby with Invictus Games participants showed him grinning ear to ear,” British royal expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital. “He was so happy in his element. Meeting with his father also would have reminded him of the prominent life he once led.”

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Al Carns and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, play in a wheelchair rugby exhibition match during the Invictus “1 Year To Go” event at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England. Birmingham will host the Invictus Games in July 2027. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

“Harry and Meghan’s life is very different from what they expected in America, from what they hoped for,” Wakeford said. “What has shifted significantly is the gap between what they said they were building and what they actually built. They left the royal family to become financially independent.”

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s six-part documentary series, “Harry & Meghan,” premiered on Netflix in 2022. (Karwai Tang/WireImage)

“The headline numbers of $100 million from Netflix deals and $20 million for Spotify always obscured what the real figures were,” Wakeford said, referring to the deals the Sussexes initially secured to lead financially independent lives.

Since marrying in 2018 and making their royal exit in 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been attempting to carve out their own independent roles outside the monarchy. (Joshua Sammer/Getty Images)

“The Netflix deal was closer to $60 million, and the Spotify deal was $5 million to exit early,” he claimed. “That’s a significant amount of money, but their costs are also extremely high, and they don’t have a sustainable business model.”

Questions about the Sussexes’ long-term future come as Harry has increasingly spoken publicly about wanting to repair his relationship with his family while continuing to build a life in California.

Prince Harry made an appearance in Meghan Markle’s 2025 Netflix show, “With Love, Meghan.” (Jake Rosenberg/Netflix © 2025)

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped down as working royals in 2020, citing relentless intrusions by the British press and a lack of support from the palace.

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From left: Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend a ceremony to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace on July 10, 2018, in London. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

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Tensions within the House of Windsor have remained high since the couple stepped away from royal duties and moved to California to pursue media ventures outside the monarchy. Harry’s bestselling 2023 memoir, “Spare,” further strained his relationship with the royal family.

In a 2025 interview with the BBC, Harry said he “would love reconciliation with my family” because “there’s no point in continuing to fight anymore.”

Prince Harry is seen walking behind King Charles during the procession for the lying-in-state of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 14, 2022, in London. Harry has been estranged from his family since he and his family moved to California in 2020. (Karwai Tang/WireImage)

“I miss parts of the U.K., of course I do,” he said. “And I think that it’s really quite sad that I won’t be able to show, you know, my children.”

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, poses for a selfie with well-wishers as he attends Scotty’s Summer Festival at Maxstoke Castle in Birmingham, England. (Heathcliff O’Malley-Pool/Getty Images)

“He misses what he knows,” British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard told Fox News Digital. “His titles give him status and a sense of achievement and credibility. His royal connection is everything he knows and, I’m sure, what he pines for deep down.”

Harry and his father met briefly for tea in September during the prince’s short visit to London, marking the first time they had seen each other in well over a year. Harry has also wanted his children to spend more time with the monarch, whom they first met during celebrations marking Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

King Charles III is seen arriving at Clarence House on Sept. 10, 2025, in London, England. The monarch had a private tea with his son, Prince Harry. (Belinda Jiao/Getty Images)

“Folks close to them say that within five years, they need to figure out what their strategy is,” Wakeford said. “They’re not bankrupt, and those headlines aren’t true. They’re not running out of money. But they do have to balance their costs against their future income.”

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Prince Harry is seen out for a walk with his dog on Jan. 4, 2023, in Montecito, California. (MEGA/GC Images/Getty Images)

On Harry’s 40th birthday in 2024, Roya Nikkhah, royal editor of The Sunday Times, reported that the prince’s friends suggested he spent much of his time “looking back.”

“I know how important it is for him to have a happy, settled family life, but you need to do more than that if you’re him,” a source who has known Harry since his teenage years told Nikkhah. “He has ended up isolated from his family and most of his old mates, in an environment where your friendships are not like the ones you forged as a young man.”

Several royal experts told Fox News Digital that Prince Harry and his older brother Prince William are not on speaking terms. (Chris Jackson/WPA Pool/Getty Images)

“He used to love a night out in the pub and hanging out in the country with friends,” said the source. “Maybe he has grown into a different person, but do I think he’d really suit the Californian lifestyle? No. Now that we’ve seen it all play out, what has that left him with? On the surface, an enviable lifestyle — but for the Harry I know, I can’t imagine that gilded exile in California is where he wanted to end up.”

Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, looks on as Britain’s King Charles III leaves Westminster Abbey after the coronation ceremonies in central London on May 6, 2023. He was sitting a few rows away from his family. (Ben Stansall/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to Archewell for comment at the time.

“He loves his family life out in the States,” Nikkhah later told Fox News Digital. “He’s thrilled to be a dad. I suppose for him, it’s just finding a role — a really meaningful role going forward. The Invictus Games are fantastic, and he does great work there, and that will continue. But I think for him going forward, it’s finding a meaningful role for himself living out in the States on the global stage.”

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, speaks at Scotty’s Summer Festival at Maxstoke Castle near Birmingham, central England, on July 11, 2026. (Heathcliff O’Malley/AFP via Getty Images)

In his 2022 Netflix series, Harry admitted, “I miss my friends … I’ve lost a few friends in this process.”

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During happier times, Prince Harry is seen chatting with his father, the former Prince Charles, on April 25, 2015, in Gallipoli, Turkey. (David Caird – Pool/Getty Images)

“There is so much about America to love, and he has embraced so much so quickly,” Fordwich previously told Fox News Digital.

“There is nothing he has ever said or done that could be seen as bad-mouthing England. His family, yes. The ‘Firm,’ yes. But not his beloved England. He has certainly wavered over becoming an American and has shared his nostalgia with close friends, telling them he misses England. Many of them believe he’s desperately lonely in California.”

Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, visits the Birmingham Children’s Hospital in the city of Birmingham, central England, on July 9, 2026. (Aaron Chown/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

“I would not be surprised to see him return, if only for a short time each year,” Fordwich added.