What Will Happen to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s Chickens When the Family Moves to the U.K.?

Meredith KileTue, August 25, 2026 at 5:18 PM UTC

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Meghan Markle holds one of her chickens on a season 1 episode of ‘With Love, Meghan’Credit: Netflix -

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are preparing to move their family back to the U.K. for an extended period

However, they will retain their residence in Montecito, Calif.

Find out if their rescue chickens are staying in California

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s chickens won’t be heading across the pond.

PEOPLE exclusively revealed on Aug. 19 that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are relocating to Britain for an extended period with Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, who are enrolled in school there and starting classes in September. The family, due to arrive in late August, will establish a private, nonroyal home base — though they have not purchased a house — while retaining their residence in Montecito, California.

PEOPLE has learned that the family’s rescue chickens will remain at the Montecito house and be cared for.

Harry and Meghan rescued 10 hens from a commercial factory farm in California and were gifted another by neighbor Ellen DeGeneres.

They famously showed off the brood during their 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, revealing that the chickens lived in a structure named for their son: Archie’s Chick Inn. “I just love rescuing,” Meghan told the TV host.

Meghan Markle with her chickens on ‘With Love, Meghan’Credit: Netflix

Meghan seemed to share a look at a gift for those caring for the chickens in a video shared on her Instagram Stories on Tuesday, Aug. 25.

The Duchess of Sussex giggled as “Chicken Fried” by the Zac Brown Band played, and she showed off a hand towel featuring chickens and the phrase, “People who take care of chickens are literally chicken tenders.”

Megjan Markle shows “Chicken Tender” hand towel on her Instagram Stories on Aug. 25, 2026Credit: Meghan Markle/Instagram

The chickens have been a frequent fixture on Meghan’s Instagram, where she would show Archie and Lilibet helping to collect eggs, cuddling the birds or laying out food for them on their “chick-nic table.”

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The birds also made an appearance in a season 1 episode of her Netflix lifestyle show, With Love, Meghan.

“It took a solid six months to rehabilitate them,” she said of rescuing the factory farm birds.

A gifted pair of silkies, Meghan also noted, were named “Phil” and “Jill” — and the names were interchangeable on any given day, according to her children.

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Despite building a life in Montecito, Prince Harry never fully found his footing in California, according to sources. He struggled to establish a close social circle of his own and missed the longtime friends and community he had in Britain.

“Harry never really stopped missing home. He’s missed that sense of connection and belonging. Britain is still home in many ways,” a source close to the couple tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story.

The move, however, was a decision “taken as a family,” says another source.

For Meghan, part of the appeal is what Britain can offer their children. “Meghan feels very fortunate that they’re able to give Archie and Lilibet the opportunity to experience both worlds,” says a Montecito insider.

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”