The Duke and Duchess of Sussex may have traded California for British soil once again, but their choice of location suggests they aren't giving up their star-studded lifestyle. It seems likely that the family's home and the children's school will be in the Cotswolds, meaning they're moving from one celebrity hotspot to another.
Known for its rolling hills and picturesque villages, the region northwest of London has become a rural haven for Hollywood stars and royalty, including David Beckham and Victoria Beckham, Princess Beatrice, Kate Moss and Simon Cowell. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's friends Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi also moved to the English countryside back in 2024.
Of course, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are no strangers to the Cotswolds, which runs through five counties: Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire. It was at Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire, where Meghan reportedly had her bachelorette party in 2018. She and Harry also rented a home in Oxfordshire while Frogmore Cottage - their former UK residence - was undergoing renovations.
"While the work was being done, we thought we could move into Oxfordshire full time. We loved it out there. The air fresh, the verdant grounds—plus, no paps," Harry wrote in his memoir Spare.
"They have lots of friends in the area," a source has told HELLO!. "Meghan is close to Ellen DeGeneres, who lives there with her wife, Portia de Rossi, as does Simon Cowell, who is friends with Prince Harry."
© Instagram"There is also Soho Farmhouse, a members' club where they are sure to spend some time, as Meghan is still friendly with the Soho House executive Markus Anderson. The house they rented when they were last living in the Cotswolds was quite small and isn't big enough for what they need now, so they will have found somewhere else."
Before making the transatlantic move in August 2026, the couple and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, resided in a multimillion-dollar mansion in Montecito, which they are said to be keeping. While the family's chickens stayed behind in California, their dogs, Pula and Mia, are joining them across the pond.
© InstagramAlthough the Sussexes won't have their chickens in the Cotswolds, a famous resident near Chipping Norton keeps some of his own at his £12 million estate: David Beckham. "It's beautiful there, so beautiful," he told Queen Camilla in 2025. "We love it. We are very happy there. We’ve got chickens…"
Making the Cotswolds their new home would also bring Harry closer to members of his family. His father, King Charles, has a private residence, Highgrove, in Gloucestershire, where the Sussexes spent time with His Majesty and Queen Camilla the month before their move was revealed.
Harry's cousin Princess Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, also have a six-bedroom farmhouse in the Cotswolds, near Blenheim Palace.
"Beatrice no longer has royal protection, so it's important for her to feel safe, particularly for her children," a source close to the royal has told HELLO! in the past.
"Country living means long walks in woods and cosy lunches in pubs with roaring fires, while the couple are also regulars at Soho Farmhouse."
© Getty ImagesA source, however, has told HELLO! that the Duke and Beatrice aren't "that close anymore."
According to Nicholas Rudge, residential sales director at Savills estate agents in Banbury, the "Cotswolds has become hugely fashionable because money has poured out of London." Nicholas has previously explained to HELLO! that the "region is safe, it's civilised, it's protected; it can't be overdeveloped, as it's an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
"If you come from a Georgian or Victorian house in London but you grew up in the country, there's this romantic image of pubs with fires and long walks with dogs, and that’s exactly what the Cotswolds offers.
"You can bump into Kate Moss down in Thyme; you can see all sorts of people. What’s rather nice is that they just get on with their lives and I think a lot of people respect that."
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