Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Move to Britain’s Starriest Countryside Explained

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may be leaving their Montecito lifestyle behind geographically, but their reported move to the English countryside suggests they are unlikely to give up their connections to celebrity circles.

The Sussexes are expected to make their new home in the Cotswolds, an area known for its picturesque villages, rolling countryside and high-profile residents.

The region is also reportedly where their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, are expected to attend school as the family begins a new chapter in Britain.

After spending years surrounded by celebrities in California, Harry and Meghan could now find themselves living among an equally impressive collection of famous faces on the other side of the Atlantic.

The Cotswolds and surrounding areas are home to a mixture of royals, television personalities, fashion figures and international celebrities, including David and Victoria Beckham, Princess Beatrice, Kate Moss and Simon Cowell.

The area could therefore feel surprisingly familiar to the Sussexes, particularly because several people within their wider social circle already have connections to the region.

Meghan is reportedly close to Ellen DeGeneres, who moved to the English countryside with her wife, Portia de Rossi, in 2024, while Simon Cowell has been described as a friend of Harry.

A source told HELLO! that the Sussexes have “lots of friends in the area”, suggesting their reported move would allow them to remain close to people they already know.

“Their move would put them close to people they already know,” the source reportedly said, adding another explanation for why the Cotswolds could appeal to the family.

The region is not entirely unfamiliar territory for Harry and Meghan either. Before moving permanently to California, the couple spent time in Oxfordshire while renovations were being carried out at Frogmore Cottage.

Harry later revealed in his memoir Spare that he and Meghan had considered making the area their permanent home.

“We loved it out there,” Harry wrote, praising the fresh air, green surroundings and, perhaps most importantly for the couple, the relative lack of photographers.

The countryside also has personal significance for Meghan. Her bachelorette celebrations were reportedly held at Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire in 2018, while she has maintained a friendship with Soho House executive Markus Anderson.

The Sussexes’ reported decision to settle in the Cotswolds therefore appears to combine privacy, family life and access to an established social network.

Despite their move across the Atlantic, however, Harry and Meghan are reportedly not giving up their multimillion-dollar Montecito mansion. Keeping their California property would leave the family with a base in both the United States and Britain.

The arrangement could give the Sussexes the flexibility to continue their existing connections and projects in America while building a more permanent family life in the UK.

Not every member of the Sussex household is reportedly making the journey, though. The family’s chickens are said to have remained at their California home, while their dogs, Pula and Mia, are reportedly travelling across the Atlantic with Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lilibet.

With its famous residents, long-standing celebrity connections and memories already shared by the Sussexes, the Cotswolds could offer Harry and Meghan a very different setting from Montecito without requiring them to completely leave their celebrity world behind.