Harry and Meghan Are Leaving California — But Are They Leaving Hollywood?

Are Meghan Markle and Prince Harry waving farewell to their Hollywood dreams in a private jet rear-view mirror?

The married couple is leaving California and returning to London — their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, have been enrolled in a British school for September, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

The youngest son of the late Princess Diana and the former Suits star will keep their home in California (and another in Portugal), and aim to stay in England for an undisclosed period of time. A person with knowledge of their plans tells THR the couple had such a “wonderful trip” overseas this summer with family and friends, they decided to extend their stay — it stands to reason they will remain on that side of the pond for at least a full school year. Harry and Meghan have no plans to pick back up senior royal duties and titles, and will reside in a private residence.

Harry and Meghan (Fringe, 2008’s 90210), also known the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, signed a rich overall deal with Netflix in September 2020, eight months after the couple announced they would “step back” as senior members of the British royal family. The deal was widely reported to be in the $100 million range. The couple moved to Montecito, California — about 80 miles north of Los Angeles — the same year. And then they got to work.

The duo produced a slate for Netflix — Polo, Holiday Celebration, Heart of Invictus, Harry & Meghan, Live to Lead, Masaka Kids, A Rhythm Within and two seasons of With Love, Meghan — though really, only their documentary about themselves, Harry & Meghan, performed well for the streamer. An animated children’s series, Pearl, was canceled before production began.

Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Productions, named after their son (their daughter was born in 2021), remains in active development on several projects at Netflix, including the feature-length adaptation of Carley Fortune’s Meet Me at the Lake novel. Archewell maintains an office at Netflix’s headquarters.

A year ago, Netflix downgraded the overall deal to a first-look one. Netflix called it an “extension,” which also made the streamer a business partner to Markle’s lifestyle brand, As Ever, which among its products sells $64 scented candles. That brand partnership lasted seven months.

“Meghan’s passion for elevating everyday moments in beautiful yet simple ways inspired the creation of the As ever brand, and we are glad to have played a role in bringing that vision to life,” Netflix said at the time. “As it was always intended, Meghan will continue growing the brand and take it into its next chapter independently, and we look forward to celebrating how she continues to bring joy to households around the world.”

Netflix declined to comment on this story. As Ever, now fully owned by Markle, continues operations in the U.S. as usual.

Archewell’s Cookie Queens documentary is currently in theaters and is “Certified Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes — it’s also is the top grossing non-celebrity documentary theatrical release of 2026 ($570,000 in 11 days as of this writing). The movie has a deal in place with a “major streaming service” that is not Netflix for its coming SVOD/AVOD window, our source says.

The business-as-usual case: Hollywood has never been less centered in and around literal Hollywood. Therefore, a move to London does not automatically squash entertainment ambitions. Netflix is a very global organization, which allows Archewell to be as well. Plus, the last show Markle appeared on was even further from L.A.: she had a ball doing MasterChef: Australia, we’re told.

Archewell has also been involved in the podcast genre, though to a lesser degree.

Markle previously hosted the podcast Archetypes for Spotify, as part of what was meant to be a multiyear exclusive deal with the audio company. However, the show, which included guests such as Serena Williams, Mariah Carey and Mindy Kaling, was not renewed for a second season and the partnership was dissolved in 2023 with sources telling THR the reason was due to Archewell’s low content output. The eight-episode season of Archetypes and a holiday special released in December 2020, were the only pieces of content out of the partnership.

In 2024, Lemonada Media took over wide-platform distribution for the 12 episodes of Archetypes and also signed Markle to host new content, including launching the podcast Confessions of a Female Founder, an eight-episode series. On the Aspire with Emme Grede podcast in June 2025, Markle said there would not be a second season and she was pivoting to focus on her lifestyle brand. Lemonada Media did not immediately respond to a request for comment on what remains of the partnership, but Markle is still prominently listed on the company’s site.

Caitlin Huston contributed to this report.