It began with such high hopes. The Duke and Meghan arrived in California in 2020, flush with a multimillion-dollar Netflix deal and a promise that the duo would make inspirational programming. Their six-part docuseries generated 23.4 million views initially, ultimately amassing 70 million views, yet nothing else they produced reached such heights. By 2025, the Netflix deal was not renewed, and a similarly lofty Spotify agreement also fell short.

As Americans ask why the couple is leaving their idyll, observers point to enduring themes in Hollywood: aspirations that failed. “There has always been this aura here, this magical thinking,” said cultural historian Richard Shweder. “Everybody thinks, ‘If those people can make it in show business, so can I.’” But most don’t make it, and wealthy figures mistakenly imagine success translates automatically.

Now, the couple is returning to the UK. They enrolled their children in school and timed the move for classes. A representative framed the departure as a short-term move to spend time in the country of their family’s story. Yet the contraction of their business ventures signals a definitive retreat from their Los Angeles experiment as their star power fades.