Hedge Fund Billionaire Ian Wace Reportedly Helping Finance Prince Harry and Meghans Return to Britain

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s return to the United Kingdom is being financially backed in part by a British hedge fund billionaire and longtime friend of the couple, according to new reporting that has emerged in the days since the family relocated from California.

Ian Wace, the 63-year-old founding partner, chief executive and chief risk officer of Marshall Wace LLP, one of the world’s largest hedge fund firms, is helping finance the couple’s move, according to two sources cited by Page Six. The outlet reported the couple’s plans to return to Britain on Aug. 20, and the details of Wace’s involvement followed several days later. Wace’s estimated net worth stands at roughly 1.2 billion dollars, according to Page Six’s reporting.

Harry and Meghan arrived privately from California to Birmingham on Aug. 26, a trip that cost roughly 120,000 dollars, according to Page Six. The couple, who are not expected to receive a royal residence, plan to settle into a private, non-royal home outside London rather than moving into official accommodations, and neither has indicated any intention of resuming senior royal duties. The exact amount Wace is contributing to the move has not been made public.

Wace and Harry have maintained a close and personal friendship for years, one shaped in part by a shared experience of tragedy. Wace lost his first wife and two children in a car crash in 1997, the same year Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, died in a car crash in Paris. That parallel has been cited by multiple outlets, including Page Six and the celebrity news site Style.news.am, as a foundation for the bond between the two men.

The families have spent time together away from public attention in recent years. In July, Harry and Meghan brought their children, 7-year-old Prince Archie and 5-year-old Princess Lilibet, to Wace’s private Scottish island, Tanera Mor, according to multiple reports. Meghan also maintains her own connection to Wace’s family through her friendship with Saffron Aldridge, a former model who was previously married to Wace before the couple divorced in 2023. According to reporting from the Sun cited by Style.news.am, Aldridge helped guide Meghan through British aristocratic social customs following her 2018 marriage to Harry, including advice on style.

The couple’s return marks the end of a roughly six-year stretch based primarily in Montecito, California, following their 2020 decision to step back from senior royal duties. They will retain their Montecito property along with a home in Portugal, according to Page Six, meaning the family’s move to Britain does not represent a complete departure from their life abroad. Harry is expected to devote more time to UK-based charitable work, particularly with the 2027 Invictus Games set to take place in Birmingham, while Meghan is expected to continue running her lifestyle brand, As Ever, from Britain.

A central factor in the family’s decision to return appears to be their children’s education. Archie and Lilibet are expected to begin attending school in Britain starting in September, giving them closer ties to the country where their grandfather, King Charles III, serves as monarch. According to Page Six, it will mark a significant shift for two children who have spent most of their lives in California, with Archie born in Britain in 2019 and Lilibet born in California in 2021.

Settling in Britain is expected to carry substantial costs beyond the initial relocation. Page Six has reported that a suitable property in areas such as the Cotswolds could run into the millions of pounds to purchase outright, while comparable luxury rentals can cost tens of thousands of pounds per month. The Times has separately reported that private school fees at some top day schools in the Cotswolds can reach as much as 50,000 pounds annually for two children. Security is expected to represent another significant expense, particularly after Harry’s unsuccessful legal battle over the level of police protection he receives while in the UK, a dispute that has left the family reliant on privately funded security arrangements.

The couple’s financial position today differs substantially from their circumstances immediately following their 2020 departure from royal duties, when they no longer received direct financial support from the royal family and instead built income through commercial ventures including deals with Netflix, Harry’s memoir “Spare,” and Meghan’s various business projects. Fortune has separately reported that the timing of their return to Britain could cause the couple to miss out on potential tax savings worth millions of dollars that a later move might have preserved.

The relocation also comes at a notable moment in Harry’s relationship with his family. King Charles was informed of the couple’s plans ahead of the public announcement, and the family spent time with Charles and Camilla during a visit to Britain in July that reportedly marked the first time Archie and Lilibet had seen their grandfather since Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022. Harry has spoken previously about wanting to spend more time with his father, who continues treatment for cancer, though his relationship with his brother, Prince William, remains considerably more strained. The family’s return to Britain does not appear to signal a full resolution of that broader rift, even as Harry and Meghan work to establish a quieter, more private chapter of their lives in the country.