Prince Harry and Meghan walking back in to the ‘lion's den, says expert

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan plan to move back to Britain this month, six years after they quit royal duties and relocated to the U.S., from where they repeatedly criticised the royal family and lambasted the British press.

A person close to the couple said they would move from California to somewhere outside London for an extended period ‌with their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, who will go to school in Britain.

King Charles, who media reports said welcomed having his youngest son and his family closer, only found out about the move on Sunday. Harry and Meghan will not live in a royal residence and will remain non-working royals, as agreed with the late Queen Elizabeth.

Harry and Meghan embarked on several media ventures from their California home, signing multi-million-dollar deals with Spotify for a podcast series and with Netflix for programming including a lifestyle show hosted by Meghan.

The projects produced mixed results. Harry's tell-all book was a bestseller, but their podcast deal ended and Meghan's Netflix show was ⁠not renewed for a third season.

In recent months, Meghan, who has launched a lifestyle brand, has published an increasing number of photographs on her Instagram account, showing Harry and their children and their U.S. life, often taken from behind the children to hide their faces.

"They didn't achieve the superstar status they wanted," said Dominic Patten, executive editor of Hollywood publication Deadline.com, adding however that they had kept the public interested for a long time, which is not easy in ⁠a town full of big-name celebrities.

Royal commentator Afua Hagan said that interest would ramp up in Britain as they return, with newspapers wanting to know where they would live and where the children would go to school.

She said while they were essentially walking back in to the "lion's den" they were better prepared this time: "They're not bringing a knife to a gunfight. They know what they have to do, what they're going to come up against, and will prepare themselves better."