Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s UK Return Gets Unexpected Help From Billionaire Hedge Fund Boss With a Deep Personal Connection to the Duke

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s return to the United Kingdom has already raised plenty of questions about their future — but new details surrounding the move have revealed an unexpected figure helping the couple behind the scenes.

According to two sources cited by Page Six, British hedge fund billionaire Ian Wace is helping finance the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s move back to the UK. The financier, who is reportedly worth around $1.2 billion, has maintained a close relationship with Harry and Meghan for years.

Wace, the founding partner, chief executive officer and chief risk officer of Marshall Wace LLP, has also developed a particularly meaningful bond with Harry through a shared experience of personal tragedy.

Page Six reported that representatives for Harry and Meghan were contacted for comment, while a representative for Wace declined to comment.

The reported involvement of Wace adds another layer to the Sussexes’ dramatic return to Britain, coming more than six years after Harry and Meghan stepped back from royal duties and relocated their family to California in what became known as “Megxit.”

A billionaire friend stepping in as the Sussexes head back to Britain

Wace is one of the most prominent figures in Britain’s financial world. He co-founded Marshall Wace in 1997, and the firm has grown into one of the world’s largest hedge fund companies.

But his relationship with Harry appears to go far beyond business or social connections.

Harry and Meghan have reportedly been close to Wace for years, and the couple have spent time with the billionaire and his family on several occasions.

In July, Harry and Meghan reportedly took their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, to Wace’s private Scottish island, Tanera Mòr.

The remote 800-acre island, located off the coast of Scotland, was purchased by Wace in 2017 for approximately $2.3 million. Since acquiring the property, the billionaire has reportedly invested about $135 million into transforming and restoring it, including planting trees, developing roads and carrying out extensive work on the island.

Harry himself is also said to have visited the island in 2017, shortly after Wace purchased it.

Then, earlier this month, Meghan appeared to share a glimpse of the Scottish landscape on Instagram, with the image reportedly believed to have been taken around the time of the family’s visit.

Now, with the Sussexes preparing to establish themselves in Britain once again, Wace’s reported financial assistance has given their long-standing friendship new significance.

The heartbreaking connection Harry and Wace share

Perhaps the most striking part of the relationship between Harry and Wace is the personal tragedy they both experienced.

In 1994, Wace suffered an unimaginable loss when his first wife, Joanna, and their two young children, Guy, 4, and Alicia, 11 months, were killed in a car accident in Hampshire, England.

Wace was reportedly sitting in the passenger seat of the Range Rover being driven by his 34-year-old wife when the fatal crash occurred.

Harry, of course, has his own deeply painful connection to tragedy involving a car accident.

His mother, Princess Diana, died in Paris in 1997 following a car crash. Harry was only 12 years old at the time.

That shared experience of losing immediate family members in devastating car accidents is one of the reasons the connection between the Duke and the billionaire has been described as particularly emotional.

While neither man’s experience is identical, both have endured the kind of personal loss that can create a powerful understanding between people.

Meghan also has a long-standing connection to Wace’s former wife

The relationship between the Sussexes and Wace does not exist in isolation.

Meghan has also reportedly developed a close friendship with Wace’s former wife, Saffron Aldridge, a former model with extensive connections within British high society.

Wace and Aldridge separated in 2023 and later divorced, but the two have reportedly remained on friendly terms.

Meghan and Aldridge have known each other for years, with Aldridge reportedly helping Meghan become more familiar with aspects of British aristocratic life after she married Harry.

The pair were also photographed together socially, and in 2019, Harry and Meghan reportedly joined Wace and Aldridge for a double date at a Cirque du Soleil performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

Aldridge has also been associated with the fashion and social worlds for decades. She previously worked as a Ralph Lauren model and is the half-sister of Victoria’s Secret model Lily Aldridge, who is married to Kings of Leon musician Caleb Followill.

Her connections also extend into royal circles.

Aldridge attended the 2011 ARK charity gala at Kensington Palace, an event at which Prince William and Catherine Middleton appeared as a married couple.

The gathering also included Wace, further illustrating how closely the billionaire’s social circle has intersected with the British royal world over the years.

Wace’s connections reach both sides of the royal family

The Wace family’s relationship with the royal world is not limited to Harry and Meghan.

Photographs from the 2011 ARK gala show Wace alongside Prince William and Kate Middleton, as well as other prominent figures.

That makes the billionaire an unusual figure in the Sussexes’ story: someone who has maintained connections with Harry and Meghan while also having longstanding links to members of the wider royal circle.

Saffron’s family connections add another layer. The father of her eldest son, Milo, is Simon Astaire, who is also a spokesman for Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.

For Harry and Meghan, who have spent years navigating an increasingly complicated relationship with the royal establishment, friendships like these demonstrate that their personal and social connections in Britain have never completely disappeared.

Harry and Meghan’s return to Britain

The reported financial assistance from Wace comes as Harry and Meghan begin a major new chapter.

On Aug. 19, Page Six reported that the Sussexes were moving back to the UK with Archie and Lilibet.

The move comes roughly six years after the couple stepped down as senior working royals and moved to California.

According to a source cited by Page Six, the palace was made aware of the Sussexes’ plans.

King Charles III was reportedly informed only days before the news became public. The same source claimed that the monarch was one of the reasons behind the couple’s decision to return, saying Charles is looking forward to spending more time with his son and grandchildren.

The Sussexes, however, are not returning as working royals.

Instead, they are expected to continue their commercial and business activities while living in a private, non-royal residence.

The family has already arrived in Britain

The move is no longer simply a plan.

On Aug. 26, Harry, Meghan and their two children traveled from Los Angeles to Birmingham, England, on a private jet reportedly costing around $120,000.

Their arrival marked the family’s physical return to Britain after years of living in California.

The Sussexes are reportedly searching for a permanent home in the Cotswolds, an area that would place them relatively close to King Charles and Queen Camilla’s Highgrove residence.

The location would also put them within reach of other members of the royal family, although the couple are not expected to resume official royal duties.

The children are also expected to begin attending school in the UK soon, making the move much more significant than a temporary visit.

A new life — but without a return to royal duties

Harry and Meghan’s decision to return to Britain does not appear to represent a reversal of their decision to leave royal life.

Instead, it could signal an attempt to establish a different kind of life in the country Harry has always considered home.

They are expected to maintain their business ventures and public projects while raising Archie and Lilibet away from the formal responsibilities of working royals.

For Harry, the move also brings him physically closer to his father after years of living thousands of miles away.

For Meghan, meanwhile, it marks a return to the country where her marriage to Harry thrust her into the center of the royal spotlight.

And now, as the family begins this unexpected new chapter, the reported involvement of Ian Wace offers a glimpse into the private network of friends and wealthy allies surrounding the Sussexes as they rebuild their life in Britain.

The couple have yet to make a major public appearance since arriving in the UK, leaving much of their new life — including where they will ultimately settle and how closely they will interact with Harry’s family — still out of public view.