Prince Harry drops major sign he has 'finally cut ties with the UK'

Prince Harry seems to have dropped a major clue that he does not plan to return to UK life any time soon. The Duke of Sussex left his British home and moved to the United States four years ago.

He settled in California, where he now lives with wife Meghan Markle and their two children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. Last year, the Royal couple were forced to give up their UK home Frogmore Cottage - leaving them without a permanent UK base.

Now, it has emerged Prince Harry has changed his country of residence from the UK to the US on official documents. He filed a notice with Companies House related to eco-tourism not-for-profit organisation Travalyst, which he founded.

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Prince Harry's place of residence on Companies House was in the UK when the project was set up four years ago. But a filling two days ago read that his 'new country/state usually resident' was the United States.

The date of the change was backdated to June 29, 2023 - one of the last days he and Meghan had access to Frogmore Cottage before they handed back the keys. It emerged last March that King Charles had asked the Sussexes to vacate the property.

It had been gifted to them by the late Queen after they married in 2018. A spokesperson for the couple said at the time: "We can confirm the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage."

Prince Harry has made a few visits to the UK since then - including after news of his father King Charles' cancer diagnosis. He is expected to travel back next month to mark ten years of his Invictus Games in a service at St Paul's Cathedral.

He took legal action against the Home Office over a decision made by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) in February 2020 that he should receive a different degree of taxpayer-funded protection when in the country.

Ravec’s decision came following a change in the Duke’s 'status' after he stepped back from being a 'full-time working member of the royal family', a judge was told. His initial bid to bring an appeal was this week refused, with him losing a High Court challenge over the decision to change the level of his personal security when in the UK.

In January 2022, his legal representative said: "The UK will always be Prince Harry's home and a country he wants his wife and children to be safe in. With the lack of police protection, comes too great a personal risk.

"Prince Harry hopes his petition—after close to two years of pleas for security in the UK—will resolve this situation." But months later, the prince told NBC that America was his home.

He said: "Home for me, now, for the time being, is in the States. And it really feels that way, as well. We've been welcomed with open arms and have got such a great community up in Santa Barbara."

On Monday, April 15, a judicial spokesperson said Prince Harry had lost his initial bid to appeal against the decision. He is still able to ask the Court of Appeal for the green light to bring an appeal.

Prince Harry this week made a surprise appearance at the annual general meeting of Travalyst and urged the travel industry to 'do more for local communities'. He said the industry must do better by local communities in key holiday destinations, claiming how without them there would be no tourism business in the future.

Appearing via video link from his home in Montecito, Harry said: "Travel and tourism rely on destinations, held together by communities, without which we have nowhere to travel to. Communities are the beating heart of travel, and we must do better by the people who are the custodians of the places we visit."

Last year, the sustainable tourism project issued a statement insisting Prince Harry was still an 'invaluable part' of the organisationafter not being mentioned in its revamp. London-based non-profit Travalyst was launched by Prince Harry in 2019 when he and Meghan were still working royals.

It aimed to make tourism and travel more eco-friendly and sustainable by bringing major travel firms such as TripAdvisor and Skyscanner together. Prince Harry was the face of the project - despite admitting to taking private jets.

Last May it emerged that Travalyst made a major announcement, revealing its transition from a 'pilot phase' to a new board of five people with 'world-class expertise' - but with no mention of Harry.

Harry was only mentioned in the press releases by the project in the 'about us' blurb at the bottom of the release. Previously, he had been reportedly mentioned prominently at the top of the text.

It is understood Travalyst did not name Prince Harry in the revamped board announcement as his commitment to the project remains the same. In a statement, the CEO of Travalyst Sally Davey said: "Prince Harry is the founder of Travalyst and remains an invaluable part of this organisation.

"His role has not changed in any way, and he is regularly involved in strategic discussions and decisions alongside our partners and board."