Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly preparing to do something that would have seemed almost unimaginable at the height of Megxit: bring their family back to Britain and establish a real home there again.

But this is not shaping up to be a simple royal comeback.

Harry does not appear to be returning to reclaim his old position as a working member of the Royal Family. Instead, the emerging picture suggests something potentially more complicated — a prince living in Britain, raising his children partly there and expanding his charitable presence, while remaining institutionally outside the working monarchy.

And that unusual arrangement could bring Harry closer to the Royal Family without necessarily bringing peace with everyone inside it.

According to the Daily Mail report published on August 20, Harry and Meghan are expected to return to Britain within weeks for an “extended period,” six years after leaving for North America. Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, are set to attend school in Britain from September.

AP subsequently reported that the children have already been enrolled at British schools and that the Sussex family plans to live in a private, non-royal residence outside London.

Yet perhaps the biggest twist is what Harry apparently does not intend to do.

He and Meghan are not returning as working royals.

The Daily Mail reported that returning to the royal fold is not in the Sussexes’ “plan.” King Charles is also understood to see “no alteration” to their status as private individuals and non-working members of the Royal Family.

Reuters and AP independently report the same crucial distinction: the Sussexes may be returning to Britain, but they will not resume official royal duties.

So what exactly does Harry intend to do?

The clearest indication so far is that Britain could become the base for a more independent version of his public life.

AP reports that Harry plans to focus on his UK-based charitable work while Meghan continues running her business. People has also reported that Harry intends to spend considerably more time in Britain and focus on charitable patronages, including organizations such as the Halo Trust and Scotty’s Little Soldiers.

That creates a fascinating middle ground.

Harry could once again become a highly visible presence in British public life without becoming a working royal.

Meanwhile, the Sussexes are not completely abandoning the life they built after Megxit. They are expected to retain their approximately £11 million Montecito home in California, while also maintaining their residence in Portugal.

This therefore looks less like reversing Megxit than redesigning it.

Harry may be attempting to have something that once proved extremely difficult to achieve: a meaningful life in Britain on his own terms, separate from the formal machinery of the monarchy.

There is also a deeply personal dimension.

Harry has reportedly missed Britain and wanted Archie and Lilibet to experience life in his home country.

Their schooling makes that connection far more substantial. Britain will no longer simply be somewhere Archie and Lilibet occasionally visit to see royal relatives. It could become part of their everyday childhood.

And that could transform their relationship with their grandfather.

Charles reportedly learned about Harry’s impending move only shortly before the news became public. Nevertheless, the King is said to “welcome” the opportunity to see Harry and his family privately.

The relationship has already shown signs of thawing.

Last month, Charles and Camilla welcomed Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lilibet to Highgrove House. It was reportedly the first time in four years that Charles had seen the children. Harry also hopes his father will open next summer’s Invictus Games alongside him, although there is currently no certainty that will happen.

But if Charles represents the possibility of reconciliation, Prince William represents the unresolved problem.

Harry’s relationship with his brother remains severely strained. The brothers are not thought to have spoken for years, while William and Catherine are said to have been “deeply hurt” by allegations surrounding Harry’s memoir Spare.

Royal author Phil Dampier has painted an even darker picture.

The brothers previously put aside their differences for the unveiling of a statue honouring Princess Diana. But Dampier told the Mail that “things are much worse now” and suggested William could find it extremely difficult even to meet Harry for an occasion commemorating their mother.

Next year will mark 30 years since Diana’s death — an obvious symbolic opportunity for her sons to appear together. Yet Dampier doubts William currently wants such a reconciliation.

Most strikingly, Dampier said friends had told him that, as far as William is concerned, “Harry is the past.” He added that William is focused instead on Catherine and their children, George, Charlotte and Louis.

Those are Dampier’s claims about William’s position, not a new public statement from William himself. But they illustrate why Harry’s return could become so sensitive.

For six years, thousands of miles separated the brothers.

Soon, they could be living in the same country again.

Harry could be attending charity events, supporting the Invictus Games and raising Archie and Lilibet in Britain while remaining outside official royal duties. Charles could simultaneously be rebuilding a private relationship with his younger son and developing a closer bond with his grandchildren.

None of this requires William to reconcile with Harry.

And that may be where the real “royal storm” lies.

The Sussexes’ return does not automatically threaten the monarchy, nor is there evidence that Harry intends to challenge William’s constitutional position. What it could do, however, is bring unresolved family tensions back into much closer proximity.

Harry had originally been expected to visit Britain for the WellChild Awards and stay at Buckingham Palace. With the entire family now reportedly returning for an extended period, that accommodation is no longer required.

That small detail captures the magnitude of the change.

Harry is no longer preparing simply to visit Britain.

He is preparing to have a life there again.

But it will apparently be neither the royal life he once had nor the completely separate California existence that followed Megxit.

Instead, Harry appears to be creating a third path: British prince, private citizen, charity campaigner, father raising royal grandchildren partly in Britain — but still not a working royal.

That arrangement could bring Harry closer to Charles than he has been in years.

It could give Archie and Lilibet a stronger connection to their British heritage.

And it could make Harry substantially more visible in the country he left behind.

But it also places him much closer to a brother with whom the wounds appear far from healed.

Harry may have found a way back to Britain without returning to the working monarchy.

Whether the Royal Family can comortably live with that new reality may be the far bigger question.