JUST IN: Prince William and Kate Middleton Leave B...

JUST IN: Prince William and Kate Middleton Leave Balmoral — But One Small Detail Appears to Send a Powerful Message During Major Family Transition as Harry and Meghan Settle Back in the U.K.

Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Prince George, Prince William and Kate Middleton attend the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, on Aug. 1, 2026.Credit : Jeff J Mitchell/Getty

NEED TO KNOW

Prince William, Kate Middleton and their children have reportedly left the royal family’s summer holiday at Balmoral and returned to Windsor ahead of the upcoming school year
Prince George is set to start his first year of boarding school at Eton College next month, while Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will continue on at Lambrook School
William and Kate were with the royal family at Balmoral in Scotland when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made their shocking announcement that they were moving back to the U.K. last week

Kate Middleton and Prince William have reportedly left the royal family’s summer holiday in Balmoral to return home to Windsor.

The Prince and Princess of Wales, both 44, along with their children — Prince George, 13, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, 8 — departed the Scottish Highlands via commercial flight earlier in the week, reports HELLO! magazine.

The family’s departure came after they joined other members of the royal family —including King Charles, Queen Camilla, Princess Anne and her husband, Sir Timothy Laurence, and Prince Edward and his daughter Lady Louise — for church service at Crathie Kirk, the church near Balmoral Castle, on Sunday, Aug. 23.

Prince William and Prince George arrive for a service at Crathie Kirk Church in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on Aug. 23, 2026.Photo by Peter Summers/Getty

Prince William and Princess Kate’s family arrived in Scotland on Thursday, Aug. 20, amid the news that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are relocating their family to the U.K. for an extended period of time.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their children — Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5 —landed in the U.K. on Wednesday, Aug. 26, after flying privately from California to Birmingham, England. They plan to establish a private, non-royal U.K. home base, with Archie and Lilibet set to begin school next month, though details about both are being kept under wraps.

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The Wales family is preparing for a major milestone in the coming weeks as Prince George is set to being boarding school in September. While Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will return to their studies at Lambrook School, Prince George is set to begin his first year at Eton College, following in both his father and uncle’s footsteps in attending the all-boys boarding school. It will mark a major transition for the entire family, with the 13-year-old living away from home for the first time while his younger siblings remain at Lambrook.

While some royal watchers expected William and Kate to choose a more modern secondary education for their eldest — perhaps a co-ed institution that would allow him to continue attending school with both of his siblings — Kensington Palace confirmed on June 16 that Eton was the choice for the next future king.

“Eton was a much-needed haven for William,” royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith told PEOPLE following the announcement. “It will give George a rigorous education that he will need for his role.”

Plus, a source close to the family added, “George has always wanted to follow in his dad’s footsteps.”

Prince William and Prince Geroge attend the men’s singles final at the 2026 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 12, 2026.Mike Egerton/PA Images/Getty

However, William and Harry’s time at Eton was a source of tension between the brothers even before their major rift in recent years.

In his 2023 memoir, Spare, Harry wrote about starting at the school three years behind his brother, calling the experience “a profound shock.”

Shock must’ve been part of its original charter, even perhaps a part of the instructions given to its first architects by the school’s founder, my ancestor Henry VI. He deemed Eton some sort of holy shrine, a sacred temple, and to that end he wanted it to overwhelm the senses, so visitors would feel like meek, abased pilgrims,” he noted. “In my case, mission accomplished.”

To make matters worse, Harry claimed that William requested that he “pretend I didn’t know him” at school, explaining that Eton had become his sanctuary.

“He was forging his own life, and he wasn’t willing to give that up,” Harry wrote.

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Harry’s return to the U.K. comes as he has recently begun to repair his strained relationship with his father, King Charles. On June 10, his family reunited with the monarch at his Highgrove country estate, marking the first time that the King had seen Meghan, Archie and Lili in four years. Despite the positive step with his father, Harry’s bond with William remains deeply strained and distant, with “no contact,” a source told PEOPLE last month.

Tensions between the brothers have grown deeper since Harry and Meghan stepped back from their royal duties in 2020, with personal conflicts and rifts detailed in Spare, the couple’s bombshell 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, and their Harry & Meghan Netflix docuseries.

Prince Harry and Prince William attend the unveiling of a statue of their late mother, Princess Diana, at The Sunken Garden in Kensington Palace on July 1, 2021.DOMINIC LIPINSKI/POOL/AFP via Getty

However, a source tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story that having Harry back in Britain presents the “best opportunity” for the brothers to reconcile.

“It would never happen with him in America,” the source said. “This gives them the opportunity to try and mend that bridge.”

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Being back in Britain could naturally create more opportunities for contact between the brothers, “whether they want it or not,” the source told PEOPLE, adding that other members of the royal family may also play a role in encouraging them to reconcile.

“Catherine may step into that breach and try to help, too, because she knows how important family is and how important Harry is to William,” the source said. “She would want to see that healed, as any wife would. This gives them opportunity to try and mend that bridge.”

Ultimately, the source said that King Charles “will want to see his sons together over time. This is the best opportunity we have seen in recent years.”

Prince Harry previously voiced his wishes to restore relationships with his family, telling the BBC in May 2025, “I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore.”