Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Are Moving Back to the UK—But They’re Unlikely to Return to Royal Accommodations

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have yet to comment publicly on the buzz about their move back to the UK six years after settling in picturesque Montecito, California. While the bombshell news has been the talk of the town, there are still more questions than answers about Prince Harry’s return home amid tensions within the extended royal family.

As first reported by the Telegraph, the Sussexes are moving this month to a “private, non-royal residence thought to be outside London.” The couple’s children, seven-year-old Prince Archie and five-year-old Princess Lilibet, have already been enrolled to start school there next month. But that doesn’t mean the Sussexes are ready to fully give up on their American dream (despite a Wall Street Journal headline that suggests that this is a branding move to save the couple’s ailing business ventures). Rather, they plan to hold onto their Montecito estate for the time being, per multiple reports. According to the Telegraph’s sources, the Duke and Duchess will make the UK their primary residence for “an extended period” before deciding if they will stay there permanently.

It makes sense that the Sussexes would be cautious about moving on from Montecito, where they seem to relish in the privacy of their 18,700-square-foot Mediterranean-style mansion-slash-homestead, and where Meghan built an image as a homemaking maven and jam-preneur. So, where outside London can Harry and Meghan enjoy similar comforts? For some privacy only about an hour outside of the big city, the Cotswolds, with its rolling hills, charming villages, and celebrity pedigree would certainly fit the bill. It’s easy to imagine Harry and Meghan making their home there in a storybook-worthy stone cottage. Not to mention, the area has personal ties for the prince: It’s where he spent much of his childhood and where the couple rented a farmhouse after their 2018 nuptials.

Should the royals decide to let go of their Montecito estate, it will be a hot commodity. “Every broker wants that listing,” a luxury real estate source told the New York Post.