Billionaire secretly helps Harry and Meghan return to Britain — and his family’s tragic deaths may explain why

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have received some unexpected help in arranging their return to the UK.

According to Page Six, the couple is receiving financial support from British billionaire Ian Wace, a longtime friend of the Sussexes who shares a particularly painful life experience with Harry.

Wace, whose fortune is estimated at around $1.2 billion, is helping to finance the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s move back to Britain, two sources told Page Six.

The 63-year-old Wace is the co-founder, CEO and chief risk officer of Marshall Wace LLP, one of the world’s largest hedge fund management firms. The company was founded in 1997.

A long-standing friendship

Harry and Meghan have maintained a close relationship with Wace for years. In July, the couple and their children — seven-year-old Prince Archie and five-year-old Princess Lilibet — visited the billionaire’s private Scottish island of Tanera Mòr.

According to the Daily Mail, Harry first visited the island in 2017, shortly after Wace purchased it for $2.3 million.

Tanera Mòr spans around 800 acres. After buying the island, the billionaire reportedly invested approximately $135 million in its restoration, landscaping the property, planting trees, building roads and completely transforming the island.

Earlier in August, Meghan also shared a photo on Instagram that appeared to show the Scottish landscape.

Now, according to sources, Wace is helping the couple with their move to Britain. On Wednesday, August 26, Harry, Meghan and their children flew from Los Angeles to Birmingham on a private jet. The flight reportedly cost them $120,000, according to Page Six.

They share a deeply personal tragedy

Wace’s connection to Harry is not purely social or financial. Both men have experienced the devastating loss of close family members in car crashes.

In 1994, the billionaire’s first wife, Joanna, and their two young children — four-year-old Guy and 11-month-old Alice — were killed in a car accident in Hampshire.

Wace himself was sitting in the passenger seat of the Range Rover, which was being driven by his 34-year-old wife.

Harry, of course, also knows the pain of losing a loved one in a car crash. His mother, Princess Diana, died in Paris in 1997 following a car accident.

Meghan Markle also has a close connection to the billionaire’s family. She is good friends with his former wife, former model Saffron Aldridge.

Wace and Aldridge split in 2023 and later officially divorced, but they have remained on good terms.

According to The Sun, Aldridge helped Meghan navigate British aristocratic society after her wedding to Harry and offered her advice on style.