For Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the dramatic decision to move their children back to Britain was supposed to mark a new chapter, but after months of arguments over security, the children’s schooling and where the family can safely build a life, another extraordinary possibility is now hanging over the Sussexes — that they could end up back in California for good, leaving King Charles III to deal with one less source of royal tension as he faces an already exhausting period filled with family scandals and the latest fallout from Charles Spencer’s explosive revelations about Princess Diana.

The possibility is particularly striking because Harry and Meghan only recently made the enormous decision to establish a private family base in Britain, with Archie and Lilibet beginning school there after years in California, while keeping their Montecito home. PEOPLE reported that the couple intended to maintain their California property even as they established their new British base.

Now, according to the Daily Mail reporting cited in the question, sources close to the Sussexes claim that “a return to their Montecito home has not been ruled out” and that the family could potentially leave Britain again if Harry does not receive the security arrangements he has been demanding.

The report says a decision from the Royal and VIP Executive Committee, known as RAVEC, is expected “within days,” although the precise outcome and timing remain matters for the authorities involved rather than something that has been publicly confirmed in advance.

That puts Harry and Meghan in a remarkable position because their return to Britain was already supposed to solve one of the biggest problems surrounding their relationship with the country: Harry wanted his children to experience Britain, attend school there and allow the family to spend more time in the country where he was born, yet security has remained one of his central concerns.

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Harry has repeatedly argued that security is not simply a matter of preference, particularly when Meghan and their children are involved, and previous reporting has documented his long-running legal battle over his protection arrangements. During that dispute, he said he could not see himself bringing his wife and children back to Britain without adequate security.

Now the situation has come full circle. The children are in Britain and the family has established a British home. The school decision has been made. And yet the security question remains capable of determining whether the entire experiment continues.

For King Charles, another Sussex departure would be an extraordinary twist because the King has already had to navigate Harry and Meghan’s return, questions about their royal status, disagreements over security and the continuing family tension surrounding Prince William and Prince Harry, while Charles Spencer’s new memoir has now reopened some of the most painful chapters surrounding Princess Diana.

That does not mean Charles would necessarily welcome another separation from his grandchildren, however, and that distinction matters; reports have indicated that the King was pleased by the opportunity to see Archie and Lilibet again after years apart, with PEOPLE reporting that Charles welcomed the chance to have more private and personal contact with the Sussex family.

But from a purely royal-drama perspective, another move back to Montecito would be astonishing.

Harry and Meghan would once again have California as their primary family base.

Archie and Lilibet would continue their lives away from the center of the British monarchy.

And the Palace would no longer have to navigate the extraordinary contradiction of having the Sussexes living in Britain while simultaneously insisting that they remain private, non-working members of the Royal Family.

For now, however, nothing has been decided publicly. The security assessment is the key piece of the puzzle, and until the relevant authorities make their decision, a permanent return to California remains a possibility rather than a confirmed plan.

But after everything that has happened, the most surprising twist may be that Harry and Meghan’s much-publicized return to Britain could end with the couple deciding that California was where they belonged all along.