Harry calls UK homecoming "great" as Invictus Games build and security ruling looms

The Duke of Sussex has said he is glad to be back on British soil after six years based in California, in remarks made to Canadian broadcaster CTV while taking part in a charity skydive. Asked how it felt to be home, the 41-year-old royal said it had been "great" — adding that his children are settled in school and that the return gives him the chance to concentrate on the Invictus Games, which he is hosting in Birmingham next July.

The interview came at the end of a busy overseas trip in which Harry jumped from a plane near Toronto. The stunt was carried out to honour a promise made to a 102-year-old Second World War veteran and to draw attention to the military charity sector. The appearance underscores a pattern visible throughout the Duke's recent months: since relocating to Britain, most of his high-profile public work has been tied to the Invictus Games foundation rather than to official royal duties.

The Duke of Sussex and Duchess of Sussex stepped back from their roles as senior working royals in 2020 and relocated to the US, establishing a new life in California. They returned to the UK full-time last month, and are thought to be based at a private property outside London, in the Cotswolds area. The couple have two children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, both of whom are now of school age.

The move back has been far from smooth. Within days of the children starting at a new school, the family was said to have moved them again amid security concerns about the journey. The Sussexes' private protection team raised worries about the distance involved and heavy traffic on the route to school — a practical illustration of how the scale of their security operation complicates ordinary family life in Britain.

Questions of policing and security are now central to the family's UK chapter. The Sussexes are waiting to hear whether they will receive taxpayer-funded protection, and Ravec — the committee that oversees royal and VIP security — is set to reconsider the level of police protection they receive now that they are full-time residents rather than occasional visitors. The distinction matters because protection arrangements for visiting members of the royal family are handled differently from those for people who live permanently in the UK.

The decision is likely to be watched closely beyond the family itself. Police resources devoted to high-profile individuals have long been a matter of public debate, and a case involving a royal who no longer carries official duties but is also not a private citizen in the ordinary sense will test the boundaries of existing policy. The outcome may also set a precedent for other prominent figures who spend significant time in Britain without a fixed UK residence.

That question sits against a wider backdrop of friction within the royal family. The Sussexes were reportedly taken by surprise by a letter authorised by the King, which reiterated that they are private citizens and set out guidance for senior government and military figures on how they should be treated. The relationship between the Duke and King Charles has been strained since the couple gave up their official roles and moved overseas, and the return to Britain has not eased those tensions.

Asked directly what prompted the family's decision to come back, Harry declined to go into detail, saying only that there were "lots of reasons". The brevity was notable, given weeks of speculation about the couple's motivations and the long-running question of whether the move represented a reset with the monarchy or simply a change of base for family reasons.

Alongside the interview, the Duke has been stepping up his public engagements in Britain. Last week he visited a school in Birmingham to launch an education programme inspired by the Invictus Games, where he played pickleball with pupils and joined a science lesson on the design of prosthetics. The visit linked his charitable work directly to the host city of the games he founded, and to the next generation of wounded service personnel the competition supports.

The Invictus Games themselves are scheduled to take place in Birmingham from 10 to 17 July next year. Organisers expect around 550 wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans from 25 nations to compete across 12 adaptive sports. It is the largest staging of the event to date, and it will draw competitors, supporters and global media attention to the West Midlands — a significant undertaking for the Duke, who has made the games the centrepiece of his post-royal public life.

The Duchess of Sussex, by contrast, has kept a much lower profile since the return. She has largely stayed out of public view, making only a handful of public appearances, though she did share a glimpse of family life back in England on Instagram, showing the family walking outdoors with the children playing nearby. Observers have noted the contrast between her relative withdrawal and the Duke's increasingly busy diary.

The broader question of what the Sussexes' UK life will look like remains open. Beyond the security decision and the Invictus Games in the summer, their plans for schooling, work and public duties have not been set out in detail. For now, the Duke's own summary is the clearest signal available: a return welcomed by the family, and an opportunity, he says, to focus on the games in Birmingham.