Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are set to stay at a royal residence when they travel to the UK next month with their children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five. This marks their first family trip across the Atlantic in four years. Harry, who has lived in Montecito, California, since 2020, will travel to the UK to begin the countdown to the Invictus Games, which will be held in Birmingham in July 2027.
Harry Plans to Introduce Children to Wider Family
According to reports, the Duke of Sussex intends to make the most of his five-day visit and plans to introduce his children to the "wider family" in the UK. Daily Mail senior editor-at-large Richard Kay discussed such speculation and suggested precisely who might be paid a visit.
Speaking to Palace Confidential, Mr Kay said: "Well, my guess is, and I have to stress it is only a guess, that it is... he's referring to the Spencer family, so his late mother's sisters and brother, whom he has continued to keep up with throughout the years of his exile in California."
Spencer Family as a Bridge
Mr Kay added: "And again, the Spencers have been in many ways a sort of a bridge between the Royal Family and Harry. They've kept up a good relationship with, for example, they have a good relationship with William." He continued: "It has been extremely tricky for them over the years, about keeping in with both sets of this really divided family. Harry's particularly close to his aunts, his maternal aunts, Jane and Sarah. And I suspect that is who he has in mind when he talks about the wider family."
Harry's Bond with His Aunts
Despite his highly publicised rift with the House of Windsor, Prince Harry has always found a steadfast, quiet anchor in his late mother's family, the Spencers, particularly Diana, Princess of Wales' two sisters. His eldest aunt, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, maintains a deeply maternal bond with him. She has supported Harry through major life milestones, attending his 2018 wedding and standing alongside him in July 2021 for the unveiling of Princess Diana's statue at Kensington Palace.
His other aunt, Lady Jane Fellowes, bridges the gap between Harry's two worlds. Because her late husband, Lord Robert Fellowes, was Queen Elizabeth II's private secretary during the turbulent 1990s, Jane uniquely understands royal pressures. Harry's close bond with her was on full display when she gave the only family reading at his wedding, and she was among the very first to visit Harry and Meghan after Archie was born in May 2019.
Previous Visits and Althorp House
In May 2024, when Prince Harry returned to London to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, no senior members of the Royal Family attended. However, Charles Spencer - Diana's younger brother and the 9th Earl Spencer - and Sarah were at Harry's side at St Paul's Cathedral. Harry has also frequently used the Spencers' ancestral home, Althorp House, as a private base when visiting the UK. When he secretly returned to the UK for the funeral of his uncle Lord Robert Fellowes, he stayed with Charles at Althorp.
