Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace in west London on November 27, 2017, following the announcement of their engagement. [AFP]
Prince Harry, who relocates back to Britain shortly with his family, will open a new chapter in his ever-eventful life which once seemed improbable amid royal feuds, battles over security and lawsuits against UK tabloids.
The 41-year-old royal misfit has long struggled with the monarchy's strictures, shaking off the angry young man and "playboy prince" tags only to find himself at loggerheads with his closest relatives.
He and wife Meghan Markle -- who together swapped Britain for California six years ago -- return still estranged from Harry's heir-to-the-throne brother William and wife Princess Catherine.
Whether their ties can be repaired -- as appears to have occurred with Harry and his cancer-battling father, King Charles III -- was just one of many questions swirling as their self-imposed United States exile ends.
"I think one of the motivating factors for this return ... is reconciliation with the king and with the wider family," royal historian Ed Owens told AFP.
"If those wounds are not healed it can have a really detrimental impact, not only on the people concerned but also on the reputation of the institution."