Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are leaving their pet chickens behind in the US, it has been reported.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expected to touch down in Britain this week, bringing with them their two young children, who have been enrolled at a British school, as the autumn term commences in September.
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Accompanying the family across the Atlantic will be their two rescue dogs: Pula, a black Labrador Retriever whose name translates to “rain” in Setswana, and Mia, a beagle adopted from the Beagle Freedom Project in 2022.
Left behind, however, will be the family’s flock of rescued chickens, housed in a backyard coop affectionately dubbed “Archie’s Chick Inn” at their Montecito estate.
Transporting the birds across the ocean is considered impractical.
Household staff will tend to the chickens alongside the rest of the California property.
The flock includes a rescue hen called Silkie, previously owned by their neighbour, the former chat show host Ellen DeGeneres.
It may prove particularly difficult for young Archie, who has been described as “positively obsessed” with the hens and was previously filmed collecting eggs in his wellies.
The late Queen Elizabeth II’s reaction when the couple first departed in 2019 now carries a certain irony. Asked whether she expected them to return, she reportedly replied: “Of course not. They took the dogs.”
How long the family will stay in the UK currently remains an open question.
A source told The Telegraph: “The couple had a great holiday in the UK over the summer and everything has fallen in place to make this move possible now.”
The same source said they don’t know whether it would be for “six months, a year, two years”.
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What is understood, however, is that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will live in a private, non-royal property outside London.
The couple intend to operate as a so-called “international couple,” with plans to visit their Portuguese property throughout the year.
Doria Ragland, the duchess’s mother, will stay in California, with the family expecting to return regularly to see her and their American circle.
The Sunday Times reported at the weekend that Australia and Canada – both Commonwealth nations – are also being weighed as potential future bases.
It is anticipated the family will spend term time in Britain and use school holidays to travel abroad.
The wider Royal Family, meanwhile, has been gathered at Balmoral for its customary summer programme of walks, barbecues and grouse shooting.
The King, Queen, Prince and Princess of Wales and their children were spotted attending church over the weekend.
William was seen behind the wheel as he drove his family in via a convoy of vehicles that included the King and Queen, along with the Duke of Edinburgh.
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