Prince Harry’s Subtle ‘Snub’ to the Royal Family About His Address
Prince Harry’s lived in the U.S. since leaving royal life in 2020. Now, however, the States are his official home on paper. Newly released documents show the Duke of Sussex backdated his primary residence to California to June 2023. The date’s significance is, per a royal commentator, a “snub” to the royal family.
Harry listed California as his primary residence in a UK document filing
Any chance of permanently returning to England has dwindled as a document filing for Travalyst, the sustainable travel initiative started by Harry in 2019, shows the 39-year-old’s primary residence as California (via ABC News).
Harry listed the United States as his “New Country/State Usually Resident” on documents filed with Companies House, the U.K. government’s registry of companies.
Harry lives in Montecito, California, an affluent Santa Barbara enclave, with Meghan Markle, 42, and their children, Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, 2. After stints in Canada and Beverly Hills, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex purchased the sprawling oceanside property in 2020 for a reported $14 million.
As for the date, the filing showed Harry changed his residence on June 29, 2023. The date holds significance in the Sussexes moving further and further away from the royal family.
That same day, Buckingham Palace confirmed Harry and Meghan officially moved out of their former U.K. home, Frogmore Cottage.
The change of address proves Harry is ‘gone to California for good’
According to Sean O’Grady, Associate Editor at The Independent, Harry putting California down as his primary residence signifies a further break from the royal family. He described it as a “snub” from Harry and “a further sign that he’s gone to California for good.”
“It is a bit painful to reflect on all the goodwill for the future heaped on Harry and Meghan when they got married, only six years ago next month,” O’Grady wrote. The pair’s nuptials took place on May 19, 2018, at St. George’s Chapel.
“Whoever is to blame for the collapse in their relationship with Britain since,” he continued, “the country lost something quite special when the Sussexes decamped to North America.”
“No doubt he’ll soon enough acquire a west coast accent to go with his easy-living, glamorous surroundings, and become more and more estranged from his family and his homeland.”
O’Grady went on to say the “process” of Harry fully embracing American life isn’t “complete.” After all, the duke only recently changed his surname and that of his family from Mountbatten-Windsor to Sussex.
“The next logical step for the couple is to become Mr and Mrs Sussex,” the commentator said. “Then it will be how long before the Duke of Sussex seeks US citizenship, complete with passport?”
Harry previously revealed in a February 2024 interview he’s “considered” becoming a U.S. citizen, although it’s not a “high priority.”
Harry is visiting England in May 2024
The Duke of Sussex is returning home to England to mark the 10-year Invictus Games anniversary. (He founded the adaptive sports competition for veterans in 2014.) Harry’s expected to speak at a service on May 8, 2024, at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Whether or not Meghan travels to England, along with their children, remains unknown as the rest of the Sussex family’s attendance has reportedly been penciled in. Meghan’s said to have a lot to consider in weighing whether or not to attend. Meanwhile, Harry wants the entire family to be there to allow for a get-together with their royal relatives.
