Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet are preparing for a major new chapter in the United Kingdom, and their return could transform more than just their everyday lives.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are planning to relocate to Britain with their children later this month for an extended period, six years after stepping away from royal life and eventually settling in California. Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, have already been enrolled in a British school and are expected to begin classes in September.
© Meghan, Duchess of Sussex/IGThe move will bring the children closer to King Charles III following their emotional reunion with their grandfather this summer. But it also puts another royal relationship within much easier reach, the one between Archie and Lilibet and their cousins Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
For years, the five royal cousins have grown up thousands of miles apart. Now, for the first time since Harry and Meghan left Britain, they are set to call the same country home.
A royal reunion that still hasn't happened:
The change comes just weeks after Archie and Lilibet returned to Britain for their first visit in four years.
© Mark CuthbertDuring the July trip, Harry and Meghan took their children to Highgrove House, where they had a private reunion with King Charles and Queen Camilla. It marked the first time the King had seen Archie and Lilibet since Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022.
However, Prince William, Princess Kate and their three children were not part of the gathering. That meant George, 13, Charlotte, 11, and Louis, 8, did not see their younger cousins during the Sussex family's visit.
© MeghanMarkle/InstagramThere is currently no indication that a reunion between the five children has been arranged following Archie and Lilibet's move, and Harry and William's relationship reportedly remains distant.
Still, geography will no longer present the same obstacle it once did.
Archie has spent time with his cousins before:
The children haven't always been separated. Archie was just weeks old when he joined George, Charlotte and Louis for a memorable family afternoon at a charity polo match in July 2019.
© NetflixMeghan was photographed holding her newborn son on the sidelines as Kate spent the afternoon nearby with George, Charlotte and Louis. The outing provided some of the first images of Archie surrounded by his royal cousins.
Lilibet's situation is different. She was born in California in June 2021, more than a year after Harry and Meghan stepped away from their roles as working royals.
© Meghan Markle/InstagramWhen Lilibet traveled to Britain for Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee in 2022, William and Kate took George and Charlotte to Cardiff for an official engagement on the day of her first birthday celebration at Frogmore Cottage. It remains unclear whether Lilibet has ever met the Wales children.
Five cousins growing up in different worlds:
Their childhoods have unfolded very differently since then.
George, Charlotte and Louis have grown up at the center of the royal family in Britain. George is second in line to the throne, followed by Charlotte and Louis in third and fourth place.
© PA Images via Getty ImagesArchie and Lilibet, meanwhile, are sixth and seventh in the line of succession, immediately after their father, Prince Harry.
But unlike their Wales cousins, the Sussex children have spent most of their lives in Montecito, California, where Harry and Meghan have largely kept them away from the public eye. That physical distance is about to become considerably smaller.
© Jeff J MitchellHarry and Meghan are expected to establish a private, non-royal residence in Britain while retaining their home in California. The exact location of their new home and the school Archie and Lilibet will attend have not been disclosed for privacy and security reasons.
Meanwhile, another change is underway for the Wales children. George is expected to begin at Eton this fall, while Charlotte and Louis have been attending Lambrook School in Berkshire.
A new opportunity for the next generation:
The Sussex family's return does not mean that the tensions between Harry and William have disappeared.
© Getty ImagesWhile Harry's relationship with his father appears to have improved following a series of meetings and the King's recent reunion with Archie and Lilibet, there has been no public sign of a similar breakthrough between the brothers.
That makes it impossible to know whether George, Charlotte and Louis will soon spend time with Archie and Lilibet. What has changed is the opportunity.
Until now, even a private afternoon between the cousins required a transatlantic journey and careful planning. Beginning this fall, all five children will once again be growing up in Britain.
© Getty ImagesFor Archie and Lilibet, the move will bring them closer not only to their father's homeland and their grandfather, but also to a generation of royal cousins they have rarely had the chance to know.
And after years spent on opposite sides of the Atlantic, the possibility of that long-awaited family reunion is suddenly much closer than it was before.
