For the first time since their controversial exit in 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle returned to the UK last week, along with their children, Archie and Lilibet.
The two will continue not to receive any benefits of their royal titles, as per the Sandringham Agreement signed when they left.
With the family now planning to stay until the children finish school, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are reportedly looking for a permanent private residence.
Highlights
- In August 2026, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrived in the UK for a long-term stay with their children and are reportedly house-hunting.
- Meghan’s demands for the new property have once again infuriated netizens over her “high-horse” mentality.
- Insiders shared what the couple has in mind for their family’s future in the UK.
Insiders have claimed Meghan has very specific requirements as the couple looks for an “English countryside dream” property, and the news has triggered a new wave of criticism.
“Yes, she’s always been an entitled, lazy grifter,” one person commented.
Meghan Markle reportedly wants nine bedrooms and a film studio in new UK house
Harry and Meghan arrived in the UK on Wednesday, August 26, and are now staying in a spare house of a wealthy friend on the outskirts of the Cotswolds, an insider told the Daily Mail.
Reports suggest the pair want to buy a property in the same region and have agreed to buy a $16.2 million house, although no deal is in place yet.
The property likely has many exquisite amenities, but what Meghan definitely wants for there to be in their new house is at least nine bedrooms and a film studio.
She hopes to create “homemaking content” in the studio, “because that is the heart of who she is,” one insider said.
Harry, meanwhile, wants a lot of land, and no boulevards going across it to protect their privacy.
Another insider shared that Harry and Meghan have not physically visited any houses yet and, therefore, haven’t been able to take a call.
“With houses, you don’t know until you step into them if they are where you want to raise your children,” the source said.
“Is this the snug where we will light a fire and watch a film? Is this the kitchen where I will cook meals for the next ten formative years of my child’s life? You have to go in person, which they will be doing over the next weeks.”
Both netizens and potential neighbors are unhappy with the Sussexes’ move
Meghan Markle’s requirements have freshly angered her detractors, who quickly voiced their opinions online.
“A lot of demands for a third-class actress,” one person said. Another wrote, “You can’t make demands if you’re broke.”
“She needs to get off her high horse,” one person reacted. “She is not any movie star with high demands, for sure. Harry needs to get her under control.”
“Where is the money coming from?” one person asked, to which another pointed to the $33 million made by Harry’s memoir Spare and about $40 million made from their Netflix shows.
The former royals’ house-hunting in the Cotswolds has left their potential neighbors equally unhappy, even though they are used to famous people living nearby, royal commentator Kinsey Schofield recently told Page Six.
“The advice from locals is essentially that Harry should keep a low profile and allow the family to settle quietly into the community,” Schofield said. “One source put it rather colorfully: ‘Shut up for at least eight months!’ and ‘Harry needs to respect the community.’”
“There’s a sense of, ‘Please don’t bring the circus here.’ These people are used to celebrities. Harry and Meghan are different because wherever they go, the headlines tend to follow.”
Despite their move, the couple is reportedly keeping their $15 million Montecito mansion in California and plans to spend school holidays there or at their $ 8.5 million holiday house in Portugal. They'll likely celebrate Christmas in California as well.
Insiders weighed in on Harry and Meghan’s future plans for themselves and their children
Although the move was an “agreed-upon goal,” insiders say that it would give Harry a shot at something he has always hoped for: a chance to enjoy all of the things he loves about his home country, but as a private citizen.
As for him possibly returning to royal duty, it is officially off the table, but insiders are not convinced that would be entirely true.
They added that he might pick up some individual charitable patronages, possibly related to military causes.
However, they said neither of them will do any commercial work in the UK in the near future.
Earlier in August, Meghan Markle was rumored to appear in the third season of Guy Ritchie’s Netflix drama, The Gentleman, in her first acting gig since leaving Suits in 2018.
The project, which could have earned Meghan over £1 million ($1.36 million), reportedly fell through after strong backlash from the viewers.
For their children, Harry and Meghan do not want a school that ranks high academically, but are instead looking for a “nurturing atmosphere.”
“Probably the highest priority is the outdoorsy and sporting ethos,” a friend of the family said. “They want to put them in a secure countryside microcosm, so that they will have as normal a childhood as they possibly can.”
"Elite level of extra." Netizens weighed in on Meghan Markle's demands for new UK home
