A Shift in Geography for the Sussexes
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are moving their primary residence from Montecito, California, back to the United Kingdom. The couple recently enrolled their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, in a British school for the start of the September term. While they retain their property in California along with a home in Portugal, sources confirm they intend to remain in England for at least the full school year following a positive summer trip overseas.
This move does not signal a return to royal duties. The couple remains independent of the monarchy and will continue to reside in private accommodations. The relocation comes after several years of building a life in the United States, centered around their production ventures and various commercial partnerships.
The State of Archewell Productions
In 2020, the pair signed a high-profile overall deal with Netflix worth approximately $100 million. Since then, the success of their creative output has fluctuated. Their self-titled documentary, Harry & Meghan, performed well for the platform, yet other projects failed to gain similar traction. The company faced a notable setback when their animated children’s series, Pearl, was canceled before production began.
Their firm, Archewell Productions, maintains an office at Netflix’s headquarters and continues to develop several projects, including a screen adaptation of the novel Meet Me at the Lake. However, the nature of their business relationship with the streamer changed last year when the overall deal was downgraded to a first-look agreement. This modification also ended their business partnership regarding Markle’s lifestyle brand, As Ever.
Shifting Industry Priorities
Recent activity suggests the couple is diversifying their distribution strategy beyond the Netflix framework. The documentary Cookie Queens, produced under the Archewell banner, is currently in theaters. It is performing as the highest-grossing non-celebrity documentary release of 2026, earning $570,000 within its first 11 days. Reports indicate that the production has secured a distribution deal with a major streaming platform outside of the Netflix ecosystem for its future windows.
Podcast ventures have also seen significant changes. Their previous collaboration with Spotify dissolved in 2023 due to output concerns. Although Markle later entered a distribution partnership with Lemonada Media for her podcast Archetypes and new projects, she stated in 2025 that she plans to focus on her lifestyle brand instead of producing a second season of her audio content. The landscape of their work suggests that moving to London does not necessarily equate to a exit from the entertainment sector, as digital production is no longer tied to a single geographic hub.