Level 1 - Absolute Beginner
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are moving back to the United Kingdom. They have lived in the United States for six years.
The family will live in a private house outside London. It is not a royal palace. Harry and Meghan will not do royal jobs again.
Their two children, Archie and Lilibet, will go to a British school in September. Archie is seven years old. Lilibet is five years old.
The family will keep their house in California and their house in Portugal too. King Charles learned about the move on Sunday.
- relocate
- to move to a new place to live
- private
- not open or available to the public
- royal
- connected to a king, queen, or their family
- duties
- jobs or tasks that a person is expected to do
- resume
- to start doing something again after stopping
- palace
- a large, grand house where a king, queen, or royal family lives
- school
- a place where children go to learn
- vacation
- a trip or time away from home for rest or fun
Level 2 - Elementary
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are planning to move their family back to the United Kingdom this month, ending six years of living in the United States. The couple stepped back from royal duties in 2020 in a move often called 'Megxit.'
The family intends to settle into a private, non-royal residence outside London, rather than any official royal property. Sources say there are no public plans for the couple to resume official royal duties or take on a working royal role.
Their two children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, are expected to begin attending a British school starting in September. The move marks a major shift for the young family, who have spent most of their lives in the United States.
Despite the relocation, Harry and Meghan plan to keep their existing properties, including their home in Montecito, California, and a vacation property in Portugal. King Charles was reportedly informed of the decision on Sunday, ahead of the public announcement.
- Duke and Duchess
- titles given to certain male and female members of a royal or noble family
- residence
- a place where someone lives, especially a formal or official home
- property
- a building or land that someone owns
- working royal
- a member of a royal family who carries out official public duties on behalf of the monarchy
- shift
- a change in position, direction, or focus
- relocation
- the act of moving to a new place to live or work
- reportedly
- according to what people say, though not officially confirmed
- announcement
- a public statement that gives information about something
Level 3 - Intermediate
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are preparing to relocate their family from the United States back to the United Kingdom, bringing to a close a six year chapter that began with their high profile departure from official royal duties in 2020.
The couple intends to settle into a private, non-royal residence outside London rather than any official royal property, and there are currently no public plans for either of them to resume working royal roles or official public duties on behalf of the monarchy.
Their children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, are expected to enroll at a British school beginning in September, a detail that has drawn particular attention given that both children have spent the vast majority of their lives in the United States and have rarely been seen in the UK.
The couple will retain ownership of their existing properties, including their Montecito, California estate and a vacation home in Portugal, suggesting the move represents a shift in primary residence rather than a complete severing of ties to their American life. King Charles was reportedly informed of the decision on Sunday, ahead of the broader public announcement.
- departure
- the act of leaving a place, position, or role
- monarchy
- a form of government headed by a king or queen
- enroll
- to officially register as a member or student of something
- estate
- a large area of land, often including a house, owned by one person or family
- severing
- cutting off or ending completely
- primary
- main or most important
- chapter
- a distinct period or phase in someone's life or in a story
- particular
- special or specific, more than usual
Level 4 - Advanced
The announcement that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle intend to relocate their family from the United States back to the United Kingdom closes, at least provisionally, one of the more consequential subplots in recent royal history, a six year interval bookended by their abrupt 2020 exit from official duties and now a quieter, more domestically framed return.
Crucially, the couple's plans stop well short of a restoration to institutional royal life. They will occupy a private, non-royal residence outside London, and no public indication suggests either intends to resume the working royal obligations they relinquished, a distinction that underscores this is a personal relocation rather than a reconciliation with the monarchy's formal apparatus.
The decision to enroll Archie and Lilibet, seven and five respectively, in a British school beginning in September carries particular symbolic weight, given how rarely the children have appeared in the UK and how thoroughly their early years have been shaped by an American upbringing; the choice suggests a deliberate recalibration of the family's center of gravity even as its formal relationship with royal institutions remains unchanged.
That the couple will retain both their Montecito estate and their Portuguese vacation property indicates the move is better understood as a rebalancing of primary residence than a wholesale renunciation of their American life, a nuance likely to shape how the relocation is interpreted by observers parsing the family's long term intentions. King Charles's reported advance notice of the decision, delivered ahead of the public announcement, points to at least a baseline channel of communication persisting within the family despite years of well documented strain.
- provisionally
- for the present time, subject to later change
- bookended
- marked at both the beginning and end by particular events
- institutional
- relating to an established organization or system, especially a formal one
- relinquished
- gave up or surrendered a role, right, or possession
- recalibration
- an adjustment or fine-tuning of something to a new standard or position
- renunciation
- the formal act of giving up a right, claim, or way of life
- nuance
- a subtle difference or distinction in meaning or expression
- strain
- tension or difficulty in a relationship
Talk about this article with KatePractice this story's vocabulary in a real spoken conversation with your AI tutor