Opportunities for the children and proximity to family and friends are the main reasons Prince Harry returned with his family to Britain after six years, he revealed in a new interview.
“Being able to put the kids in a British school has meant a lot to me,” he told GQ Magazine’s Zach Baron in a sit-down recorded during his trip to New York City in September. “I didn’t know how important it was to me.”
Two weeks in, “they’re loving it, and it’s just giving them a whole different experience,” the prince said.
He also appreciated the chance to give Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, ages seven and five, a different cultural experience, and the opportunity to come home himself.
“But yeah, to be back closer to my family and to be back on UK soil for longer than a few days or a week here or there, you know?” Harry elaborated.
“It’s been nice to be close to … family, friends and their children as well, to be able to have endless play dates to really, like, help our kids settle in.”
That said, the move was a sudden decision for him and wife Meghan Markle, Harry said.
As far as their relationship with the media goes, he said he felt the environment had changed slightly, and so has his family.
He hopes they can forge a path forward based on mutual respect that allows both sides to leave the past behind “and work for the greater good,” the prince said.
Harry also expressed the wish to reconcile with the rest of the royal family – namely, his father, King Charles, and older brother, Prince William, who will someday be king.
The rift has turned into a gulf over the years since Harry and Meghan stepped back from official royal duties and moved to California. But Harry is bent on mending fences.
“With everything else that’s going on in the world, the most important thing is to reconcile,” he told Baron. “That’s the key point.” – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
