It seems that in their bid to be the UK’s premier low-key, twenty-first century royals, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have decided to act like every other thirty-something couple and do battle (albeit very regally) with the British rental market. Though the newlyweds currently enjoy a very enviable domestic set-up courtesy of Her Majesty the Queen, living in the two-bed grace-and-favour property Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace, new reports suggest that they’ve just leased a property in the Cotswolds.
According to Us Weekly, Harry and Meghan have signed a two-year lease on Westfield Large, a house on the Great Tew estate, which is just an hour and a half outside of London. While Kensington Palace will remain as the couple’s official residence, it’s long been rumoured that they’ll upgrade their comparatively tiny Palace property for a 21 bedroom apartment next to William and Kate. This, however, will require extensive renovation work – hence the need for a country bolthole for the weekends (clearly, they’ve learnt from Princess Margaret’s mistakes in the latter half of The Crown’s second season).
The Westfield property is a stone’s throw from A-list hangout Soho Farmhouse, where Meghan reportedly hosted her hen party back in March. The couple will also have some very high profile neighbours in the form of David and Victoria Beckham, who bought a £5 million (9,558,217.72 NZD) barn house on the same Great Tew estate last year, and have since been carrying out renovations on the property.
Rumours that Harry and Meghan had set their sights on the Cotswolds – and the Great Tew estate in particular – first emerged back in January, when it was reported that the couple were interested in Beaconsfield Farm, a run-down farm house built on the site of an old Roman villa. But red herring Roman villas, Beckham connections and excellent spa links aside, surely the real coup here is the fact that the pair have managed to snag a two year lease in this tumultuous rental market?
This article originally appeared on Grazia.
