What Prince Harry and Meghan told friends at California farewell party

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said they would return to California before the couple left for the UK earlier this week, said report report citing an insider.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived in the UK with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, on Wednesday.

The couple’s children will go to school in England as they arrived for an extended stay, according to reports.

The report said that the couple is currently house-hunting at the moment in the Cotswolds - near where Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet have been enrolled in a prep school.

“Despite actively searching for a property reportedly in the region of £8million, Harry and Meghan are said to be retaining both their £6.3million Portuguese escape and £11million Montecito mansion,” reportedly the outlet.

Speaking to People magazine an insider told People magazine that, before leaving the US on Tuesday evening, the family hosted some of their closest friends so the children could enjoy "special time".

However, the source clarified: "It wasn't a goodbye forever. It was much more, 'We'll be back, but this is what we're doing right now'."

The source added the upcoming move is something the couple have been "planning for some time" and that they "feel it's the right thing for the family".

"But that doesn’t mean leaving was easy," it was explained.

According to the report Meghan Markle is expected to "come and go" from California, where she has her As Ever brand, and the couple's Archewell Productions offices are.