Prince Harry & Meghan have arrived back in Britain with their children

Breaking news: the Sussex family has arrived in Britain. We know because the British media is tracking their every move already. According to the Telegraph, “The Sussexes landed at Birmingham Airport at lunchtime on Wednesday. Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, will start at a British school next week, at the start of the autumn term.” They’re already on the ground one week after their big “return” announcement last Wednesday. This continues to blow my mind, especially the speed with which they’re moving.

Alongside the Sussexes’ return, People Magazine continues to highlight their cover story about what’s going on behind-the-scenes. People just released another exclusive about how Meghan is feeling (some of these quotes were covered yesterday):

Things are not going to be the same: This time, however, Meghan returns without the palace hierarchy that once governed her life — and with her own career, team and support system. “She has been vocal about how she felt about it before, but that doesn’t mean things are going to be exactly the same again,” an ally tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. “It doesn’t mean it can’t be different and can’t change.”

Protection: Another source says Meghan’s network is better prepared for what lies ahead and “stronger now than it ever was to protect her — to protect them.”

Many things are still the same: Still, some of the forces that made Meghan’s first chapter in Britain so difficult remain. Recent polls have placed both Harry and Meghan near the bottom of royal family popularity rankings in Britain, just above the former Prince Andrew, while the British press they have repeatedly confronted shows little sign of losing its intense interest in them.

Her friends are worried: “My biggest concern is the level of media attention she’ll face in the U.K.,” a source close to Meghan tells PEOPLE. “I’m worried for her.”

This was a family decision: Sources stress that the decision was “taken as a family,” with Meghan seeing particular value in what Britain can offer Archie and Lilibet. “Meghan feels very fortunate that they’re able to give Archie and Lilibet the opportunity to experience both worlds,” says a Montecito insider.

The Spencer roots: The children got a glimpse of that other world this summer. In July, Archie and Lilibet reunited with their grandfather King Charles at Highgrove before spending time at Althorp, Princess Diana’s childhood home and final resting place, with Harry’s uncle Charles Spencer, his wife Cat Jarman and several cousins from Diana’s side of the family. For Harry, giving his children a connection to his mother’s roots matters. “He wants them to understand the world he grew up in and where their family comes from,” says a source.

This isn’t permanent: The move does not amount to a rejection of the life the Sussexes built in California. Montecito gave the couple privacy, space and distance from the scrutiny of royal life while their children were young, and their $14 million estate there remains home. They are also keeping their vacation property in Portugal, and several sources stress that the family’s stay in Britain is not permanent.

Things can change: For Meghan, however, the return puts her back in a country she once seemed unlikely to call home again. Only this time, she will not be returning as a working duchess operating within the royal institution. She returns with her own career, her own team and far greater control over her life. As one ally puts it, “It doesn’t mean it can’t be different and can’t change.”

[From People]

“It doesn’t mean it can’t be different and can’t change.” It’s the hope that kills you. That being said, I do think it’s going to be different for them, it’s just that “different” doesn’t mean “better.” It just means different. Different protections, different lack of protections, different security, different situation with Harry’s family, different relationship with an even more toxic press.

Updated with Chris Ship’s tweet, below. The Sussexes did not have police protection when they arrived in Birmingham.

NEW: Prince Harry and Meghan have landed in the UK to start their new chapter here. They arrived a Birmingham airport around midday. They were given no police protection for their arrival.
They are here with children Archie & Lilibet who start school in the UK shortly.

— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) August 26, 2026

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.