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The Sussexes touched down in Birmingham on Wednesday morning

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle insisted they would be back when departing their Montecito residence for the UK earlier this week, an insider has claimed.

The Sussexes touched down on British soil on Wednesday ahead of their "extended" stay in the UK.

They are understood to be house-hunting at the moment in the Cotswolds - near where Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet have been enrolled in a prep school.

Despite actively searching for a property reportedly in the region of £8million, Harry and Meghan are said to be retaining both their £6.3million Portuguese escape and £11million Montecito mansion.

The Californian bolthole alone could cost them $600,460 annually in mortgage and tax bills.

The Sussexes are said to remain keen on spending time on the West Coast.

An insider told People magazine that, prior to jetting off to the UK on Tuesday evening, the family hosted some of their closest friends so the children could enjoy "special time".

However, the source clarified: "It wasn't a goodbye forever. It was much more, 'We'll be back, but this is what we're doing right now'."

The source added the upcoming move is something the couple have been "planning for some time" and that they "feel it's the right thing for the family".

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The family may spend Christmas on the other side of the Atlantic and could make use of school holidays to travel back to California.

Additionally, while Harry is seemingly moving as a full-time dad - something he joked about on his podcast appearance with Joe Marler last month - Meghan is anticipated to take on a more "international role".

The duchess is expected to "come and go" from California, where she has her As Ever brand, and the couple's Archewell Productions offices are.

Meanwhile, Harry will remain in the UK to look after the children. It has been suggested he could remain in the country for up to 15 years.

One telling detail about the family's long-term intentions, however, is that their dogs Mia and Pula have made the journey across the Atlantic.

Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told GB News that Harry and Meghan's reported moving arrangements indicate the couple appears to be "relocating separately".

"How it pans out will be anthropologically fascinating," he said.