The royal family’s long-running American soap opera is returning to Britain.

The question is whether it will blossom into a happy reunion or descend into anger, division and chaos.

Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, are set to return to the UK from California within a few weeks, having already enrolled their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, in British schools so they can start the autumn term with their classmates.

The surprise decision, first reported late Wednesday by the Telegraph and Sun, has sparked widespread debate about where the couple will live, who will pay for their security, and whether they might one day return to royal duties.

Yet perhaps the most difficult issue is whether Harry can repair his once-close relationship with Prince William, the heir to the throne, which was severely damaged by Harry's very public complaints about mistreatment by Buckingham Palace staff, racism in the royal family, and the monarchy's failings.

There are also worries that Harry and Meghan might try to outshine William and his wife Catherine when they next share the British stage.

“That will be something for the palace to deal with …” Craig Prescott, an expert on the U.K. constitution and the monarchy at Royal Holloway University of London, said.

“They wouldn’t want Meghan and Harry’s presence in the U.K. here to overshadow the work of the monarchy, and there will have to be some discussion and allowance for that.”

British media reported late Wednesday that the couple are expected to live in a private, non-royal residence outside London and will not resume their royal duties, which they relinquished when they moved to the exclusive Southern California community of Montecito six years ago.

Their return to the U.K. coincides with King Charles III, Harry's 77-year-old father, continuing to receive treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer diagnosed in 2024.

The prince remarked last year that he was uncertain "how much time my father has left," and has voiced a wish for his children to have the opportunity to forge a bond with their grandfather.

While Harry and Meghan’s decision has taken many by surprise, royal historian Ed Owens observed that recent developments had paved the way for the couple’s return.

Initially, Harry expressed his desire for reconciliation, and this was followed by what appeared to be a successful meeting last month between the king, his younger son, daughter-in-law, and their children at Charles' Highgrove estate in western England.

Moreover, Owens, the author of "After Elizabeth: Can the Monarchy Save Itself?", pointed out that Harry has also stated his wish for his children to be raised as British, and that the U.K. currently seems a safer option, especially given the divisions in American society.

Ultimately, Owens said he expects Charles to forgive Harry, since as the supreme governor of the Church of England, he must exemplify Christian teachings, including the virtue of forgiveness.

William may find it more challenging to forgive his brother, yet in time he too will assume leadership of the church, Owens remarked.

Owens told reporters, "It may be that privately William never fully forgives his younger brother for what he perceives as a betrayal of the family.

But publicly, he will, because traditional moralists and Christian values demand a public act of forgiveness and reconciliation between the brothers."

Charles was apprised of Harry and Meghan’s intentions on Sunday, yet the subject was not broached during their recent visit to the U.K.

Relations between Harry and Meghan and the rest of the royal family have remained tense since the couple relinquished their royal duties and relocated to California in 2020 to become financially independent.

Subsequently, they secured highly lucrative agreements with Netflix and Spotify.

The rift deepened after the couple granted a series of interviews and Harry published his explosive memoir "Spare," in which he asserted that they had left Britain to escape the constraints of royal life.

The couple further accused palace officials of insensitivity toward Meghan's mental health and alleged that at least one member of the royal family had expressed racist views during her pregnancy with their first child.

Meghan identifies herself as biracial.

In a 2021 interview broadcast worldwide, Oprah Winfrey asked Harry to articulate his rationale for departing Britain.

“A dearth of support and a lack of comprehension,” he responded.

Those tensions were further inflamed by Harry's long-running legal battle with Britain's tabloid press, which he claims illegally hacked his phones and invaded his privacy when he was younger.

The courtroom drama seemed to be nearing its end after Harry and other plaintiffs lost their lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mail last month.

That case left Harry confronting the prospect of a multi-million-pound bill after the court determined that the plaintiffs were accountable for the publisher's legal costs.

Associated Newspapers has submitted documentation indicating that its expenses totaled 34.5 million pounds ($47 million).

Harry has also become entangled in a legal dispute with the British government after a government committee declined to grant police protection for him and his family during their visits to the U.K.

The prince argues that they need armed police protection because they are vulnerable as members of the royal family, regardless of whether they hold official working roles.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham remarked on Thursday that the couple's security arrangements constitute a "private matter" for Harry and Meghan to address.

After his legal challenge to the committee's decision was dismissed in May 2025, Harry said he hoped to reconcile with his family, while continuing to express his anger at those in Britain he believes have mistreated him and his wife.

"I can't imagine a situation where I would bring my wife and children back to the U.K. at this point," he told the BBC at the time.

"And what they would miss is, well, everything.

You know, I love my country.

I always have, despite what some people in that country have done."

While much of the media attention on Harry and Meghan has focused on family tensions and mutual blame in recent years, Owens suggested that the story may now turn to the royal's efforts to rebuild family harmony.

"I believe time is a powerful healer, creating much-needed space in a world dominated by social media," he said.

"People are always looking for the next topic to discuss, and arguably, that will be reconciliation—first between father and son, and then possibly between the two brothers."