Duke of Sussex says it is "great" to be back in Britain as family's Cotswolds life takes shape

The Duke of Sussex has said it feels "great" to be back in Britain following six years of living in California, in remarks made to Canadian broadcaster CTV. The interview came after the prince took part in a charity skydive near Toronto, a jump linked to his work supporting military charities and wounded service personnel.

Speaking to the network, Harry said: "It's been great. It's been great to be back on British soil. The kids are happy in school and it gives me a chance to be able to really focus on the Invictus Games in Birmingham in July next year." His comments offer one of the clearest indications yet of how the family intends to divide its time between private life and public duty now that it is based in the UK full time.

The Sussexes left the UK in 2020, when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back as senior working members of the Royal Family and began a new life in the US. They relocated back to Britain last month, and are thought to be staying at a private property outside London in the Cotswolds area. That move ends the most sustained period of their marriage spent outside the UK.

A key part of the adjustment has been schooling for their two children. Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, were moved to a different school only days after starting at their new establishment, reportedly because of security concerns relating to the journey. Members of the couple's private security team raised specific worries about the distance involved and heavy traffic on the route to school — issues that, as full-time residents rather than occasional visitors, the family can no longer sidestep by changing schools again.

Those same factors sit at the heart of an unresolved question about public protection. The Sussexes are waiting to hear whether they will receive taxpayer-funded security in Britain, and Ravec, the committee which oversees royal and VIP protection, is set to reconsider the level of police protection they receive now that they are permanent UK residents. The outcome is expected to determine how much of their day-to-day life can be conducted away from public scrutiny.

Away from their own circumstances, the couple's return has already been marked by tension inside the Royal Family. The Sussexes were reportedly surprised by a letter authorised by King Charles which restated that they are private citizens, and which set out guidance for senior government and military figures on how they should be treated. The intervention was widely interpreted as a significant marker of the distance between the family and the Palace.

That distance has been building since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex relinquished their duties as senior working royals and moved to the US, with the relationship between Harry and the King widely described as strained. The letter's contents, and the fact it had been authorised at that level, underline how sharply the position of the couple within the family has changed.

Meghan, meanwhile, has kept a notably low profile. She has largely stayed out of public eye since the family's return, making few public appearances, and has recently shared glimpses of domestic life in England through Instagram. Her relative absence from the public stage contrasts with Harry's more visible schedule of engagements.

The Duke has carried out several public engagements connected to the Invictus Games, the competition he founded for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans. Last week he visited a school in Birmingham to launch an education programme inspired by the games, where he played pickleball with pupils and joined a science lesson on prosthetic design.

The games themselves are scheduled to take place in Birmingham from 10 to 17 July next year. Organisers expect around 550 competitors from 25 nations to take part across 12 adaptive sports, and Harry's own remarks suggest he sees the event as the anchor for his next chapter of public work in Britain.

The CTV interview came after he completed a skydive in the Toronto area to honour a promise made to a 102-year-old World War Two veteran, while also raising awareness of military charities. The appearance underscores a pattern in the Duke's post-return activity: a mix of charitable and commemorative causes rather than a return to a full round of royal duties.

Asked directly what prompted the family's return to the UK, Harry declined to go into detail, saying there were "lots of reasons" but offering no further explanation. That reticence leaves the couple's longer-term plans unclear — whether the Cotswolds base is a permanent home, how much royal-adjacent work Harry will take on, and how the security question will be settled.

For now, the picture that emerges is one of a family prioritising stability for its children and a single major focus for the Duke's public life. Whether that produces a settled new routine in Britain — or another set of negotiations over status, security and royal duty — is likely to become clear only in the months ahead, with the Invictus Games the clearest fixed point.